


The Kids In The Dark

by Uncommon_Aura



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: F/M, I like keeping them all in one fic though to keep the continuity, New chapters will likely be added but they're kinda just fillers/drabbles that fit in with the plot, Other, Self Insert, Self Insert OC - Freeform, Semi complete
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-11-18 07:39:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 52,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11286705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uncommon_Aura/pseuds/Uncommon_Aura
Summary: After two years in prison, Jak's pissed as all hell and ready to tear limbs from sockets to get revenge against the man who infused him with dangerous Dark Eco; So he joins a rebel movement to aid him. He never intended to care about Haven City or it's people, but he has no control over who he falls in love with. (Self-Insert/OCs. Part one in a series. Rated M. Complete)





	1. Feeding The Revolution

**Author's Note:**

>  
> 
>  
> 
> This is a self-insert fic that's basically Jak2 with the addition of myself as part of the cast. This won't be a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the game, and will instead just focus on bits that revolve around my character, regardless of how relevant they are to the game plot.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx's father gets caught in the crossfire of his own comrades when a sector sweep goes horribly wrong. He dies as a result, leading family friend Torn to take Nyx and mutiny against Baron Praxis. After evading Torn's ex-comrades, they're found by an Underground member, and thus begins the story.

Torn’s heart beat an ugly rythem in his chest as he swerved violently through Haven traffic. Damn the rush hour, it was slowing him down. They weren’t chasing him yet, but it wouldn’t be long before they found him; His hellcat had GPS coordinates, and he knew it.

After what felt like forever of weaving through traffic and pedestrians, Torn slammed the brakes and came skidding to a stop in front of a house in the inner city. Removing his Krimzon Guard helmet, he banged hard on the door. Nyx had to be home, right? He wouldn’t know where to find her if she wasn’t…

A few moments later - Much to Torn’s relief - a startled looking teen with pale skin and dark hair opened the door. She peered out warily at first, before fully opening the door upon seeing who was on the other side. “Torn? Wha-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Torn was grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the door. “We have to go, there’s no time to explain!”

Nyx shrieked as she was then dragged from her home and down the streets. She noted that Torn was ignoring his hellcat cruiser, and she began wondering exactly what was going on. Whatever it was… It was bad, wasn’t it?

Leading the confused girl, Torn ducked through foot traffic, searching for a vehicle he could hotwire. He soon found one parked outside a shop, and got it running within a few moments. People saw him do it, sure, but that didn’t matter anymore. “Get in,” he instructed his companion.

With limbs numb from fear, Nyx obeyed Torn’s command. “Torn… Torn, what the hell is going on?”

Torn didn’t reply as he started speeding through Haven again. He wasn’t exactly sure where the hell he was going, but he knew that he had to get himself and Nyx somewhere safe.

Realizing that she wasn’t getting answer, Nyx resigned herself to being quiet, knowing that distracting Torn while he was driving this fast was a bad idea. He was going way over the speed limit, and was dodging other zoomers left and right. Something was definitely going on, if he was this desperate to go… Wherever he was taking her…

As a the sound of bullets rang out through the air, Torn swore violently, and Nyx yelped. The Guard had found him, damn. “Get down!” Torn ordered, taking a sudden and hard right.

Nyx obeyed Torn’s orders, and ducked as low as the seat would allow her to. She had no idea why the Krimzon Guard was firing at one of their own, but she also had no idea why Torn was running from them. Somewhere in her mind, the question of where her father was also begged to be answered.

Torn grimaced as he saw that they’d set up a road block for him, knowing exactly where he was going to go. Slamming the gas pedal down even further, Torn sped towards the line of hellcats, and managed to swerve between them. He knew how their formations worked, so he had some kind of advantage. He wasn’t sure how much use that would be, though.

The now ex-KG found himself driving towards the slums, a place where no one seemed to know anyone, and there were plenty of abandoned buildings. It probably wouldn’t work forever, but it would do for now. He just had to lose their pursuit first…

That would be the hard part, Torn figured. A lot of the other Guards were just as good at reckless driving, and it was those guys who had managed to keep up with him. Taking a rough left, followed by another one, Torn swerved towards the docks, a place where it was notoriously difficult to drive.

Another rain of bullets hit the back of their zoomer, and Torn cursed again. They couldn’t keep taking fire like this… He pulled one of his pistols from it’s holster, and turned to fire a pot shot at the cruisers behind him. He got lucky, and nailed one driver in the shoulder. His vehicle swerved, and he crashed into the side of a building.

There were of course, still three more Guards chasing them. Torn contemplated handing Nyx the gun, but she’d never shot anything in her life, and he didn’t want her in harm’s way, either. But driving and shooting at the same time was both dangerous and difficult…

Torn took another shot, but this time he missed. He then had to quickly pull right to avoid crashing into a wall. He cursed yet again, and put his gun away. He couldn’t justify giving it to Nyx, not right now. He’d have to lose the other guards somehow…

Finally reaching the docks, Torn started thinking of ways to do so… It would only take a moment of them not knowing where he and Nyx were. It was that simple.

There was something else that was also simple, and it was the option that ended up working. The docks were a rather crowded place, for one reason or another, and when you’re driving against traffic, it’s hard to not crash into someone else.

Torn was rather good at defensive driving, and managed to slip through a rather nasty traffic jam. The guards behind him with their larger hellcats however, were not quite so lucky. There was the sickening sound of a major car crash, and Torn risked a glance back to see what had happened. Yeah, the other guards had crashed into a multitude of other cars…

Well, that hadn’t been the plan, but hey, it had worked. Torn looped back around towards the slums, now driving a bit slower and with the flow of traffic, instead of against it. As long as no one looked directly at them, hopefully they wouldn’t be noticed again.

“Is it… Over?” Nyx asked, slowly sitting back up to look around.

“Not by a long shot,” Torn responded. “But it’s safe for now,”

Nyx sighed and looked behind them, as if she expected more Guards to start chasing them. Then she turned back to Torn. “…Where’s my dad?”

Torn didn’t immediately respond; He wasn’t sure how to. He sighed quietly and looked over at Nyx. “I’m sorry…”

Nyx stared back at Torn with a heartbreaking look. Then she gave a weak glare. “What happened?”

“We were sent to investigate ‘suspicious activity’ in sector five…” Torn replied. “When a few people got scared and ran, our comrades opened fire. Your father tried to stop them,”

She was silent in response to that, staring blankly at the hood of the zoomer. Torn glanced over at her, and then took a hand off the wheel to place it on her shoulder. “Nyx, I really am sorry…”

Nyx sighed, biting back tears. “It’s not your fault,”

Torn returned his attention and other hand to driving, and sighed. Even if he knew that he couldn’t have prevented this, he still felt awful about it. He took a right, and then started looking around for abandoned buildings they could hide out in.

Eventually he spotted one, and slowed the zoomer down to park outside it. “We’re gonna hide out here for a few days… While I figure out what I’m doing…”

Nyx stepped out of the zoomer, and regarded the building before her. “…You sure they won’t find us?”

“Probably not,” Torn replied, though he wasn’t entirely sure. He took the lead as they entered the one-story building. Drawing his gun, he checked each and every room, making sure it was clear.

Once he was sure that no one else was around, Torn headed back for the door. “I’m gonna go get rid of that zoomer, you stay here, okay?”

Nyx nodded. “I’ll be right here,”

Torn hesitated a moment as he turned towards the door, and then sighed. He pulled out one of his guns again, and pressed it into Nyx’s hand. “In case you need it. Only shoot if you have to,”

Nyx stared at the firearm in her hands, before nodding once. “Got it. Come back soon, okay?”

“I will,” replied Torn as he headed back out the door.

Nyx slid down against the wall and sat there, trying to sort out everything that had just happened. Her father had been killed by his own comrades, because they’d opened fire on innocent civilians… And now Torn was committing mutiny or something, and had brought her with him… So what was the next step? What were they going to do now? She trusted Torn, she’d known him all her life, which was the main reason why she wasn’t actively freaking out. If anyone knew what to do now, it was Torn.

The teen was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice the sound of footsteps that weren’t Torn’s approaching her. “Hey, there. You okay?”

Not registering the words, and only the unfamiliar voice, Nyx scrambled up to her feet, pointing Torn’s gun at the unidentified person who was suddenly next to her.

“Woah, woah! No need for that! I won’t hurt you!” the person - a blonde woman - exclaimed, putting her hands up.

Nyx studied this woman for a moment. She wasn’t carrying any weapons… Nyx lowered the gun ever so slightly. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Tess,” the woman replied. “I saw you come in here with some KG guy. What’s going on?”

Nyx continued to stare at the woman now identified as Tess. “…Why does it matter to you?”

“If you’re in trouble, I can help,” Tess replied. “I know some people. Is that KG guy your friend?”

“…Yeah. I’m not really sure what’s going on, but I think he’s. Mutinying or something…” Nyx replied slowly. She wasn’t sure how much she could tell this lady, but she figured that a vague answer like that was okay, wasn’t it? She said she 'knew people’… Maybe she could help?

Tess hummed. “An ex-KG, huh? The Shadow might find use in a guy like that…”

“The Shadow?” Nyx echoed in question.

“Yeah. See, I’m part of a movement against the Baron called the Underground. Our leader is the Shadow. He might wanna meet your ex-KG friend,” Tess replied.

The Underground? Nyx had heard of it before, Torn and her father had mentioned it before. They’d spoke about these people like they were awful heathens, but that was in their beginning days of being Krimzon Guards…

Now she and Torn were running from the KG, and likely everything that the Baron stood for. Didn’t that mean that these Underground people might be allies now?

“Freeze, don’t move!”

Tess spun around at the sound of another voice behind her. Staring her down with a gun pointed at her was Torn. She opened her mouth to say something, but Nyx cut her off.

“It’s okay, Torn! She’s with the Underground!”

Torn raised an eyebrow, but didn’t lower his gun. “How’d you find us?”

“I saw you come in, thought something might be up. A KG escorting a young woman into an abandoned building and all,” Tess replied. Then she gestured to Nyx. “She mentioned something about mutiny,”

“…If that’s how you wanna see it,” Torn replied, his gun still pointed at the blonde.

“I understand your mistrust, but the Underground could use a guy like you. You know how the KG works, you could help us infiltrate the Baron’s operations,” Tess said.

Torn was quiet a moment. “What’s in it for us?”

“A place to stay, for one,” replied Tess. “And, you get to fight for the right side of this war,”

Torn narrowed his eyes, but relaxed a bit as Nyx came to stand beside him. “You wanted to fight for your people, didn’t you?”

Though he didn’t entirely stop glaring, Torn finally put away his gun, and nodded. “Alright. Let’s see what the Underground is all about,”

Tess smiled, bright and happy. “Great! Follow me!”


	2. Loyal As Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx and Torn get caught during a routine mission, and Torn is almost killed as a result of it. Nyx risks her own life to fix the damage done, and Torn gets pissed at her for putting her own life in jeopardy because of him. He made a promise, after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This plays with eco channeling headcanons, as well as the headcanon that Torn's ridiculously scratchy voice is from vocal chord damage. There's also a lot of blood due to this.

"Stop!"

The word tore from the teenager's lips before she thought about what the consequences of it could be. She didn't give a damn about consequences, she wanted them to leave her best friend alone!

The Krimzon Guard holding her arms behind her jostled her. "Shut up, brat!"

"No!" Nyx yelled, thrashing against the large hands that were constricting her wrists. If she'd been any good at channeling red eco, maybe she could have truly resisted... "Just stop! Leave him alone! Please!"

"Sorry, kid, no can do," another Guard said, taking a few steps towards her and lifting her chin with the edge of the knife he was holding. "There's no mercy for traitors,"

There was an angry yell from behind the knife-wielding man. "Don't touch her!"

As the man with the knife turned towards the ex-Commander, he sneered. "That's why you were never meant to be a KG, Torn. You're too soft, afraid to make sacrifices,"

"I made plenty sacrifices," Torn growled, struggling against the third Guard who had him pinned down to the floor, his head held up by his long hair. "But I never killed innocent people!"

"Torn, shut up!" Nyx pleaded. If he kept running his mouth like this, they were definitely going to kill him...

"Your little friend has a point, Torn. You're just digging your own grave deeper, now," the one with the knife said. "Do you wanna die that badly?"

Nyx struggled again, trying to break out of the hold the much larger man had on her, but he held fast. "Please! Don't hurt him! Just stop it! The Baron ordered you to leave him alone, didn't he?!"

"And how do you know that?" the knife-wielder asked, turning to glare at her.

Shit. Shit, she shouldn't have said that. As the man stalked towards her, she held his gaze the best she could, though her whole body began to shake. She shrieked as he grabbed her by her hair to keep her from looking anywhere but at him.

"How do you know what the Baron ordered us to do?" the man growled, pressing the cold steel of his knife up to her neck.

"Stop!" it was Torn's turn to scream the word as he tried desperately to free himself. "She doesn't know! She only knows what I told her!"

The man with the knife turned back towards Torn, knife still resting against Nyx's neck. He let the moment hang for a few seconds, before letting Nyx go and striding back towards Torn. He kneeled, taking over the hold on Torn's hair. "So. How do you know, then?"

Torn gave a shit-eating grin. "Like I'll tell you,"

The man grimaced. "Fine, then. We'll find out someday," and then he brought his knife up to Torn's throat.

"No! No, please!" Nyx screamed, jerking against the hold on her wrists. She felt something pop out of place in her left wrist, but she kept thrashing, making the other man have to wrap his arms around her chest to hold her. "Stop it! Stop!" she continued to scream, though.

The man with the knife scoffed, and in one smooth movement, slashed the knife across Torn's throat. Blood hit the pavement, and Torn made an awful choking sound. Nyx screamed at the top of her lungs, and she kicked violently at the man who was holding her.

Torn's head was released, and it hit the ground with a thud. The man on top of him got up, and Torn made no attempts to move. The man with the knife stepped aside to let Nyx watch the blood pool around Torn's head.

As she watched the blood puddle grow, and saw that Torn wasn't moving, she stopped thrashing. Her legs gave out from underneath her, and the big Guard let her drop to the floor. Tears quickly blinded her and dropped down to the pavement below.

The Guard with the knife grinned before motioning for his men to follow him. As they went, he turned back towards Nyx. "Let this be a message to the Shadow; Not even an ex-KG can fight us. He's going to lose,"

There were a few beats of silence. And then, "What about her?" the man who'd previously had Torn pinned down asked.

The knife-wielding Guard waved his hand and scoffed. "Leave her. Something else will kill her eventually,"

As soon as the rogue patrol was out of sight, Nyx scrambled across the road to Torn's unmoving form. She could barely see through her tears, but as she turned him over she was relieved to see that he was still breathing. Still alive, ever so slightly. Blood gushed from the slice in his neck, and it was an awful thing to see.

A bloody hand came up to grasp one of Nyx's, and she got the feeling he was trying to tell her something. He was probably trying to tell her to leave, but Precursors be damned, she wasn't doing that!

Nyx wrenched her hand out of Torn's, and then pressed both her palms to the bleeding wound. She'd never tried healing something this bad before, but surely she could try, right?

Her hands started to glow, and she could feel Torn's body accepting the green eco she was trying to channel into him. That meant it was working, right? That meant the damage was being healed? Torn's hand gripped at her arm with as much urgency as a dying man could manage, and he was trying to pry her hands away.

"Stop it, Torn! I'm not leaving you!" Nyx yelled at him, trying to not look at the blood that was now smeared along her arm and hands. "I'm not leaving!"

She could see the wound as it healed now, the blood pooling out becoming less. But she was running out of green eco, and she had no idea if Samos would show up in time. She'd managed to get in the SOS call right before she'd been grabbed and her communicator smashed. Hopefully Samos and Tess would come find them...

Meanwhile, she had to do whatever she could to keep Torn alive. She wouldn't know what to do if he died... He was all she had left, after all. His hand was still around her wrist, but he wasn't pulling anymore. Instead he just stared up at the smoggy Haven sky, coughing and choking every few seconds.

As she began to run out of green eco, Nyx panicked and kept pulling. She knew that channelers could turn their own life force into eco; Samos had mentioned it. It was why people could channel eco, their bodies already carried some of what makes their specific eco affinity. So she pulled on the very core of her abilities, and dredged up more green eco from deep inside her. It hurt, felt like tearing herself apart, but she didn't care. It didn't matter. All that mattered was Torn.

The cut on Torn's throat continued to seal, and as the blood loss minimized, Torn's grip on Nyx's arm strengthened ever so slightly. He finally found the ability to look at her, and he tried to form words. "St- Sto-"

"No!" Nyx hissed out. "I will not. Stop..."

Torn wanted to tell her that she was hurting herself, but his vocal chords just wouldn't do it. So he squeezed her arm harder, and tried to pull it away again.

"Goddamnit, Torn! Stop! I've almost got it!" Nyx yelled, wishing she could slap him or something.

"Over there! I can hear her!"

Nyx's ears registered the sound of Tess' voice somewhere in the distence. Thank Mar, they'd gotten the SOS. She couldn't take the time to try locating them, though. Her vision was getting blurry, and she still had to finish fixing up Torn.

Tess' footsteps came rushing towards them, followed by footsteps that sounded like logs. "What in the name of the trees happened here?!"

Upon hearing the voice of the man who could definitely finish fixing this, Nyx looked up to see Samos and Tess rushing towards them. She tried finding words, but instead her vision abruptly went black, and she felt her head meet the pavement.

\-----

 

Nyx stared at Torn, watching his chest gently rise and fall. She'd come so close to losing him... And it wasn't something she ever wanted to experience ever again.

Samos had given her a long-ass lecture about what she'd done when she woke up. He went on and on about how dangerous it was to turn her own life force into usable eco, and how she very well could have died. She knew that. But she cared a little bit more about saving Torn. After all, they'd both made it, hadn't they?

Sure, her channeling would probably be weak for a while, but it wasn't like she used it much. That was the first time in months she'd actually needed it. Samos was mad at her, and Torn probably would be, too. But she didn't give a damn. They were all alive, and that was the only thing she cared about.

"Here," Nyx turned towards the sound of Tess' voice, and she took the cup of hot chocolate that was given to her.

"Thanks," Nyx mumbled, sipping at the warm drink.

Tess smiled. "I know Samos is mad at you, but. You did what you thought was right today. Anyone would have,"

"I know," Nyx replied, her eyes still locked on Torn.

Tess offered another smile and a pat on the shoulder, before leaving Nyx be. She hadn't really said much since she'd woken up, not even in response to Samos yelling at her. She was really out of it, Tess realized.

Nyx sipped idly at her hot chocolate, letting it warm up her body, which felt much too cold. A side-effect of turning her own life essence into eco, she supposed. She was so damn tired, but she wanted to stay there, wanted to be around when Torn woke up. She needed to know that he was definitely going to be okay.

But staying awake was a challenge. Her eyelids didn't want to cooperate with her, and her brain was foggy. She was on the verge of falling back asleep in her chair, when she heard Torn groan.

Nyx perked up immediately, and jerked up out of her seat as Torn dragged himself up. "Torn?" Nyx asked as she crossed the room to reach his side.

Torn brought up one hand to run his fingers over his throat. There was a slight mark there, as even green eco couldn't completely mend the damage done without leaving some trace. Or maybe Nyx just wasn't a good enough channeler. She wasn't sure. Torn's tired eyes moved to Nyx, her own face tired and drained. He forced a small smile. "Hey,"

Nyx smiled back, despite Torn's voice sounding wrong. It was still his voice, no mistaking it, but there was an extra layer of scratchyness and rasp that hadn't been there before. "Are you okay?"

Torn nodded. "I'm alright..."

Even Torn noticed the off-sound of his voice, and it left him unsure if he wanted to say more. His fingers prodded and explored the scar on his throat, as if he could find the exact reason why there.

"I know you wanted me to leave you but. I just. Couldn't," Nyx mumbled, staring down at the bed. "You're my best friend, I wasn't gonna leave you there..."

Torn sighed. "A guy can dream, right? You could have hurt yourself..."

"Yeah, I know..." Nyx sighed. "Samos already gave me an earful, you don't have to. But if it were me... And you'd have the power to try and save me... You would've done the same thing,"

"That's not the point," Torn argued, his voice cracking minutetly.

"Then what is the point?" Nyx demanded. "Is the point that I should have left my best friend and only family to die when I had the ability to save him? Because that's a really shitty point, Torn,"

Torn sighed and shook his head. In that moment, he'd wanted her to run. To get back to Samos and Tess, where he knew she'd be safe. But she'd disobeyed him and could have hurt herself trying to save him. The point that he didn't want to tell her was that if she'd injured herself because of him, he would never forgive himself. And he wanted to still be mad at her for it, but when he realized how it must have been for her, the anger dissipated.

Nyx stared at Torn as he stared over at the wall, waiting for him to say something. Finally, he opened his mouth without looking back at her. "I promised him I'd protect you,"

"What?" Nyx asked, staring at Torn increduously.

Torn sighed again and finally looked back to her. "Your father. As he died, I held him in my arms and I promised I'd keep you safe,"

"Oh..." Nyx breathed.

"Even if it cost me my life, I said I'd protect you," Torn continued. "That's what I was doing today; Protecting you. And you just. Wouldn't let me,"

Nyx wanted to be some form of emotional, over the fact that her father had asked Torn to keep her safe. But instead, she settled on being some form of angry. "And you expected me to leave you to die because of that? You're mad at me because I could've gotten hurt because of you, right? Well guess what, Torn, I have the right to protect the people I love, too!"

Torn forced back an angry growl and flexed his hands in the bedsheets. He cast his gaze back to the wall, and counted to ten.

"I know you're mad at me," Nyx said, now sounding soft and tired. "But I was goddamn terrified of losing you... You weren't the one who watched their best friend have his throat slit..."

Torn looked back to Nyx again and saw that she was crying. He hated it when she cried, it always ended arguments without question. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to his chest. "I'm sorry..."

"Me too..." Nyx mumbled into Torn's chest. "But I wouldn't have left you no matter what,"

Torn ran his fingers back through Nyx's hair and sighed. "Just like your father... Stubborn and loyal as hell,"


	3. That's Not How You Win A War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Torn's been neglecting to take care of himself lately, and Nyx is goddamn sick of it. He wasn't going to win any wars by working himself to death, so she elects to mother him, because clearly no one else will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah I really love this one! I really love writing Nyx and Torn, they're so much fun. We see Torn being a hardass a lot in the games, sometimes being a downright ass. But I think that he's actually a really caring guy. We don't see it often in-game, but it's there. We only see it in quiet glimpses, but it's THERE. And I love it. I love him.

He was working himself too hard, Nyx thought... Ever since they'd been caught by that rogue Guard unit, and Torn had nearly died, the ex-KG had been working himself half to death. He was in a perpetual state of aggrovation, and no one could hold his attention for more than a moment if they weren't talking war.

And Nyx was getting goddamn sick of it. This wasn't the Torn she'd grown up with. He'd always been rather serious and business-first, but he'd still known how to laugh and have a good time. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually heard him laugh, now. Properly laugh, not give a dry, sharp chuckle that was somehow sarcastic.

It broke her heart, honestly. To see her best friend reduced to nothing but a social role, really. His only purpose now, in his eyes, was to work on trying to win this war. She missed when it was just the two of them, and they'd stay up all night playing games. She missed it more than anything.

As Torn growled and shoved away a stack of papers angrily, Nyx decided that she'd had enough. "Torn,"

He didn't even look at her as he replied. "What?" there was too much bite in his voice, though, and he immediately regretted it.

"You need to take a break," Nyx said, moving around the table to grab Torn's arm. "You're working yourself too hard,"

"War doesn't take breaks, haven't I told you that before?" Torn replied, trying to not growl out his words so much.

Nyx sighed. "Yeah, but people do. You can't keep working day and night like this, you're going to make yourself sick,"

"I'm fine," Torn hissed out, fanning out a few pages on the table to better read them.

Nyx slammed her hand down over the papers, making Torn finally look up at her. "You look like hell warmed over, Torn. You're pale, you're tired, and I can't remember the last time I saw you eat something. You're working yourself to death, and that's not gonna do anyone any good,"

"I'm the best guy we've got," Torn argued. "If I don't do this, no one will. And if no one's doing this, then we're wasting time that the Baron is using to advance on us,"

Nyx gave a frustrated groan. "Stop being so stubborn! You need to take care of yourself or you're not gonna be any good to anyone! Least of all Samos! Do I have to get his green ass in here to tell you that sleep deprivation and starvation are not how you make a plan that wins a war?!"

Torn groaned and drug his hands down his face. "You wouldn't bother the Shadow just to have him yell at me,"

Nyx gave Torn a look, glaring right into his eyes. "Fucking try me,"

Torn stared at her for a moment, before sighing heavily and flopping back into his chair. "Alright, fine. What the hell do you propose I do, then?"

"Take a break. Eat something, get some sleep. I promise you'll feel better afterwards. You'll be able to think clearer, and maybe think up something that will actually help us,"

Torn sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Fine, have it your way,"

Nyx gave Torn a smile that didn't exactly reach her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen, squeezing Torn's shoulder as she went. Without her around, he probably wouldn't last long, would he?

While Nyx was busy in the kitchen, Torn was quick to pick up his papers again and get back to what he was doing. Even five minutes of work was worth it to him. Maybe ten, depending on what she was making in there.

When Nyx returned, she wasn't pleased to see Torn hovering over his papers again. She made a show out of shoving a bowl in front of Torn, pinning his papers to the table. "Leave the papers alone, Torn. Eat,"

Torn snorted and flopped back into his chair. "Is this going to be a reoccurring thing?"

"Yes," Nyx almost hissed. "I'm not going to let you work yourself to death and deprieve your body of things it needs. Now eat, or I will shove it down your throat,"

Torn rolled his eyes and picked up the fork from the bowl, seeing that it was leftover spaghetti from the night before. He'd been deep in his work and hadn't bothered having any of it then.

Nyx watched him with the judging look of a mother until he started actually eating it. Then she smiled at him, and returned to the kitchen. She came back with two glasses, and put one in front of Torn.

"Is that wine?" Torn asked, looking up at her after regarding the purple-red drink.

"Yeah. It's been sitting there for months. Tess offered you some last week, remember?" Nyx replied, sitting down with her own glass.

Torn hummed. "Yeah, I remember,"

"But you're a good soldier, you didn't wanna be drunk on the job. And honestly, I think that was a good idea. Drunk war plans aren't good war plans," Nyx laughed.

Torn rolled his eyes. "So you've officially taken me off the clock, huh?"

Nyx nodded. "Yup," and then she sipped from her glass, and proceeded to start choking.

Torn stared at her for a moment as she wheezed and stared at her glass like it had just betrayed her. "Sweet Precursors, this is awful!"

And then he laughed, nearly choking on pasta. "It's an aquired taste,"

"You mean I'm supposed to drink this shit until it doesn't taste awful anymore?" Nyx asked, sticking her tongue out as if that would rid her mouth of the taste.

"Something like that," Torn replied, still getting over the short burst of laughter.

"I think that's ridiculous..." Nyx said, sliding her glass over to Torn. She wasn't letting it show, but she was glad her slight moment of displeasure had gotten a laugh out of Torn. It was a sound she missed hearing.

Torn smirked at her and proceed to take a huge swig from the glass, not even flinching. Nyx glared at him. "Show off,"

"You think this is bad? Try vodka," Torn chuckled, setting the now half-empty glass down.

Nyx shook her head. "No way. You'd have to pay me big to try something worse than that,"

"You've tried rum before, haven't you?" Torn asked.

"That was an accident, and there was soda in it," Nyx informed him. "And it was still awful,"

Torn snorted. "I still can't believe you did that,"

"I can't believe my dad poured rum into a soda can instead of using a glass," replied Nyx.

"Your dad did some weird things," said Torn, nodding.

Nyx nodded. "Yeah, he really did..."

Neither of them knew what to say after that. Talking about Nyx's father was always hit and miss. Sometimes they'd have a good laugh about something funny, but sometimes it'd end up like this. Quiet, with both of them wishing things had gone differently.

With a sigh, Torn finished the bowl of spaghetti and pushed the empty dish across the table. "There, happy?"

"Immensely," Nyx replied. "Feel better?"

"...Yeah," Torn replied, not making eye contact. He wouldn't admit it to her, but he'd been starving. At least now it didn't hurt, and his head felt less foggy.

Nyx grinned wide. "See? I told you,"

Torn rolled his eyes as Nyx got up to take the bowl back to the kitchen. "I want you out of all that fancy armor by the time I get back, okay?"

Torn gave her another eye roll that she didn't see, and stood from his chair to remove his armor and other layers of clothes.

There was a pile of armor and red fabric on Torn's chair when Nyx came back, the owner of said clothes now wearing only his shirt and pants. Nyx smiled at him and pulled off her goggles, followed by her boots.

"You plan on joining me?" Torn asked, eyeing her as she pulled off her bra without removing her shirt somehow. ...Exactly how did she manage that?

Nyx grinned. "It's the only way to keep you in the bed until morning,"

Torn sighed, and gave up on fighting her. She was just as stubborn as her father, and he'd hate to make her upset by denying her. Because eventually she'd resort to crying to get her way, and he didn't want that. It was better to just go along with it.

Nyx grabbed Torn's arm and dragged him over to one of the bunks, shoving him down onto it and then crawling in next to him. The twin-sized matress was a bit small, but it wasn't that big of a problem. Nyx could just lay half on top of Torn, and that would fix it right up. Torn didn't mind; He never did.

As they settled down, Torn rested one arm over Nyx's back, the other on the back of her head. Her arms were wrapped around his chest, her head resting in the bend between his collar bone and neck.

She sighed softly, her breath tickling Torn's skin. "Besides. I missed this. I don't always like sleeping alone, y'know,"

"Yeah," Torn replied quietly. "I know,"

There were a few beats of silence as Nyx further settled into Torn, listening to his heart beat under her ear. And then, "I'm sorry,"

"What for?" Nyx asked, not daring to look up at Torn as she spoke.

"For worrying you. For not being here for you," Torn replied softly, threading his fingers through Nyx's hair. "We used to be a lot better,"

Nyx sighed and reached up to rest her palm against Torn's face. "I know. But that was when everything was different. We've both changed. Everything's changed. But we've still got each other... You're still my best friend. My big brother. Nothing will change that,"

Torn had to smile a bit, and Nyx felt the action against her palm. "That's good to hear. The last thing I wanna do is drive you away,"

Nyx snorted. "You couldn't if you tried. You're all I have left. Now shut up and go to sleep,"


	4. Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Torn's a bit suspicious about the Underground's newest recruits, but he's willing to look past that... Until he finds out just where the mysterious teen came from... Prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's pretty short, but I felt it needed to be explained whether or not Torn knew about Jak being experimented on. It's never mentioned by him or in front of him, but you'd think he's gotta know, right?

Nyx braced the heavy crate against her hip as she walked into the hideout, idly thanking Mar for automatic doors. Torn would be glad that Ashelin had scored them so much eco this time around. Nyx had no idea how Ashelin did it, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

"How'd it go?" Torn asked no sooner than Nyx had set foot in the hideout. He'd been pretty nervous about letting her go off by herself... Even if it was to meet Ashelin.

The self-appointed supply manager smiled and set the crate down on top of a stack of others that were mostly empty. "Without a hitch. How was your day?"

Torn paused before responding. "...Interesting..."

"Rough one?" Nyx asked, recognizing the tone in his voice. When was the last time they'd not had a rough day, anyways?

Torn hummed an affirmative. "Some guy with an orange rat on his shoulder showed up, demanding to join, and also to see the Shadow. Apparently Kor sent him or something,"

"Has the old guy ever been wrong in his judgement?" questioned Nyx, looking back at Torn as she grabbed a crow bar, pried open the crate, and begin sorting it's contents.

"I'm starting to wonder," replied Torn. "I wasn't sure about this guy, so I sent him to Dead Town to retrieve the banner there,"

Nyx raised her eyebrows. Dead Town? That was a pretty nasty place to send anyone. "Did he make it? Or did you have to go save his ass?"

Torn gestured to a piece of fabric that was draped over another pile of boxes, with an expression that said, 'Does that answer your question?'.

Nyx turned to stare at the fabric that she identified as the banner. "Wow. Sooo you let them in or what?"

"They completed the challenge I gave them, I'd be an ass to not let them," Torn replied with a sigh. "Guy's name is Jak and he's got a real temper. And the orange rat he's got talks, too. That one's Daxter, apparently,"

"Well," said Nyx, setting aside the cannisters of green eco she'd sorted through. "If these guys are tough enough to survive Dead Town, I'd say they might be useful,"

Torn sighed, but nodded. "I suppose so. They managed to get the water turned back on, so I guess they get points for that,"

Nyx stopped in her sorting to completely turn and stare at Torn, looking bewildered. "You're shitting me. They actually got the water turned back on?"

"They did," Torn confirmed with a nod.

Nyx laughed, breathless and relieved. "I can't believe it. I think I like these guys,"

Torn snorted. "I dunno. I can't help but feel there's something off about them. Something in the kid's eyes,"

"Lots of people have 'looks' in their eyes, Torn," said Nyx, rolling her eyes. "You've got moments where you do, too. You have no idea what's happened to this guy to put it there,"

Torn sighed. "I know, I know. I just can't afford to make a mistake with this guy,"

"I know how it is, Torn, believe me. But you let him in, didn't you? If you really felt something was wrong, you wouldn't have," Nyx replied. "Maybe he's got some skeletons in his closet, but who doesn't these days? As long as he helps us fight the Baron, what's it matter?"

Again, Torn sighed. "I guess you're right,"

"Just be careful with him for a while, see what he can do and who he is. Go from there," Nyx advised, shrugging as she set aside more eco. "That's all you can do,"

Torn nodded slowly and relucantly. "Yeah,"

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I knew it," Torn growled to himself as he looked through some classified papers that had been stolen from the Baron, courtesy of Ashelin. 

"Knew what?" Nyx asked idly, going over their supply levels and grimacing at them. They were still really low on things... 

Torn gestured to the papers in his hand. "That kid, Jak. He's an escaped prisoner from the Baron's prison,"

Nyx glanced up at Torn, not visably bothered by this information. "And? We've got other guys that came from prison,"

"This kid is different. I talked to Kor. He said that this kid went all berserk on some Krimzon Guards that tried to arrest them. Said that his eyes went all black, and he grew horns and claws. Mentioned an 'aura of dark eco', too," Torn said, almost growling. "I knew this kid was bad news. The Baron experimented on him... There's been chatter about something called the 'Dark Warrior Project', and it looks like Jak's proof of it,"

Nyx hummed as she thought about that information. "Well, if the Baron tortured him, don't you think that explains why he wants to help us?"

"Yeah, but don't tell me it doesn't bother you that this kid is probably infused with dark eco or something?" Torn asked, surprised by Nyx's calmness. She didn't freak out at everything the way Vin did, but normally he'd be able to see some kind of conflict happening in her head. Currently there was no such thing. 

"Sure it does," Nyx replied. "Dark eco is nasty shit, I know this for a fact. But I won't judge this guy for whatever Praxis did to him. Instead I'll judge him for what he's done for us. The list of which is getting longer each day,"

Torn heaved a sigh. She was right, and it was his turn to be a bit paranoid. But when you're leading an underground movement against your city's government, you've gotta be wary of everything, Torn had learned. "Yeah, alright. I'll give him that,"

"Maybe he's got some freaky dark eco powers or whatever, but we've only heard of him using those against the KG, right?" Nyx asked, though she expected no answer. "So I don't think we've got much to worry about,"

Torn grimaced. "I hate when you're the logical one," 

Nyx laughed. "Yeah well, you do the same thing for me. I'm just returning the favor," then she decided it was time to change the subject. The less Torn thought about it, the better. "Anywho, we really need more supplies," 

"Low again?" Torn asked, choosing to go with Nyx's bad segway. Why was it that they never had enough supplies? Oh right, because they had to fight tooth and nail, as well as rob the Baron, to get them.

Nyx nodded. "Very,"

"I'll get in contact with some of my old KG pals, see what they can't get us," said Torn, grabbing his communicator and searching through his contacts.

"Sounds good. I can go pick up whatever they can cobble together when it's ready," Nyx replied, returning to her clipboard to finish doing her weekly inventory. "Hopefully it won't take two weeks like the last time,"

Torn chuckled quietly. "Don't worry, I'm not calling that guy,"


	5. Two Idiots And A Control Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx heads out to the Strip Mines to collect some information from good friend Vin, but ends up trapped with him in the control room, when Metal Heads ambush them. Torn sends Jak and Daxter to go rescue them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Nyx finally meets Jak and Daxter! Originally I was going to make up a completely new mission where they had to go rescue her, but it ended up working better by putting her out in the Strip Mines with Vin.

The Strip Mines were definitely not the most pleasant place, that was for sure. If Jak was a sane person, he might have said no to treking through this Metal Head infested place just to rescue two idiots who had gotten trapped here. But Jak was by no means sane, and Torn had explicitly stated that these idiots were important. It didn't matter if the Strip Mine operation belonged to the Baron; The foreman and whoever else was there were important Underground members. There'd be hell to pay if they died. 

"Ah, if only the stairs weren't destroyed," Daxter said wistfully as Jak leaped onto a moving crate full of crushed rock and dirt. These huge metal crates were being moved by large cranes, and as luck would have it, there was no ground immediately below them. So if they fell off now... Daxter had to stop that train of thought where it was; Following it would lead him nowhere good.

Jak stayed on the crate just fine, and used it to jump over to the higher plateau of rock where the mine's control room was. That was where the two trapped Underground members would be, right? They certainly hadn't found any bodies yet. 

Daxter leaped off of Jak's shoulder as the duo approached the closed control room door. Tense and prepared for anything, Jak pressed the large red button that he assumed would open the door. The door slid open with a technological whir, and revealed a barricade that had been set up by moving various pieces of equipment. Jak took one step inside the door, and then had to leap back outside to avoid the pot shot of yellow eco that came flying at him. 

"Aaahh! Stay back!" a frantic male voice screamed, as the owner of it continued to shoot madly. 

"Do somethin', Jak!" Daxter yelled, motioning to his friend. "This guy's crazy!"

"Hey! Are you Vin?" Jak called out. "We're here to help! Torn sent us!"

The frantic man didn't seem to hear Jak's words, and instead shouted for them to stay back again. The other person in the room, however, did hear Jak.

"Vin! Vin, stop!" it was now a female voice that could be heard, with an equal ammount of panic in her voice. "Didn't you hear them? Torn sent them to help us! Stop shooting at them!"

The firing of a gun abruptly stopped, and the sound of someone collapsing over the barricade could be heard. "Oh, friendlies? Oh, thank goodness. So uh. Where's the army?"

With the threat of being shot now over, Jak and Daxter both stepped into the doorway to see the older man who was Vin, still wielding his blaster pistol. There was a much younger woman standing next to him who was short and chubby, with dark brown hair parted to her left and longer on that side. 

"Uuuh. We're it," replied Daxter, grinning widely in a way that was more annoyed than anything else.

Vin looked rather put off by that answer, in fact he seemed quite panicked by it. He tapped his gun on the side of his head as he gestured wildly. "What? Just you two? What do they think I'm worth?"

The dark haired woman stared at Vin as he rested his head on part of his barricade. She, too, seemed rather panicked, which was made obvious by the shaking of the hands that reached out to pat Vin's shoulder.

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself..." Jak mumbled, stroking his chin. "If you want, you can stay here and be Metal meat, but Daxter and I are leaving before those monsters get back,"

Vin was out of the control room in no time flat, frantically looking around. The young woman followed him much slower, but still looked around just as warily. Jak motioned them over to the warp ring around the corner, and one by one they all jumped into it. Save for Vin, who backed himself into it and fell in head-first.

The ring spit them back out in the power station, Jak managing to land on his feet while the other two tumbled across the floor. Vin picked himself up instantly and rushed over to one of the consoles in the station, immediately engrossing himself in some technological thing. He muttered something to himself, but no one could make out the words.

The young woman picked herself up a little more slowly, rubbing at a sore spot on her hip from where she'd landed. "Ow..."

"You okay?" Jak asked, looking at her as she pulled herself upright. Then he glanced to Vin. "Both of you?"

"Yeah, yeah totally fine!" Vin exclaimed. "Nothing like almost getting eaten by Metal Heads to brighten up my day, oh yeah!"

The woman rolled her eyes at Vin and nervously laughed a bit. "We're okay, thanks,"

"You're very welcome!" Daxter said, bowing dramatically. "I'm amazing, I know,"

The woman smiled and snorted at Daxter. Then she hummed and tapped a finger on her lower lip, which was adorned with snakebite piercings. "Hmm. Guy with murder in his eyes and an orange creature on his shoulder... Jak and Daxter, right?"

"Our reputation preceeds us, does it?" Daxter asked as Jak rolled his eyes. "Yep, that's us. The toughest guys you'll ever meet!"

The woman gave another smirk. "I'm Nyx. It's good to finally meet you guys, I've been wanting to for a while, but Torn loaned you out to Krew pretty quick,"

Daxter scowled at the mention of Krew. "Yeah, that fat tub o' lard's been runnin' us ragged,"

Nyx hummed, though now it was more thoughtful. "I gotta get back to the hideout and let Torn know I'm okay. Why don't you come back with me? You can rest up a little,"

"That's not necessary-" Jak began, but was cut off by Daxter.

"Ooooh, a little R&R time? Sounds great, let's go!" the ottsel exclaimed, trying to steer Jak towards the door with a tug of his friend's ear. 

Jak gave Daxter an unamused look, but chose to not protest. Nyx smiled at them and bid farewell to Vin, who offered her a one-armed hug before she left. Then the trio made their way back onto Haven's streets, glancing around warily for the ever-present KG.

Jak was going to hijack a zoomer to get them to their destination, but Nyx instead lead them over to a parked one. She fished out it's keys from some secret compartment, and motioned for Jak to get in as she took the driver's seat. 

"How'd you know where to find the keys?" Daxter asked curiously as his blond perch got into the passenger's seat. 

"The Underground doesn't have many resources, but there's always a few cars left out for operatives on the move to use. They're discreetly marked and the keys are always in the same place," Nyx explained, starting up the zoomer and heading for the slums. 

Daxter hummed. "Huh. Wonder why Tattooed Wonder never told us this?"

"Probably because he's not sure if he trusts you yet. That's why he loaned you to Krew," replied Nyx. 

"Oh, so this is about trust?" Daxter asked, sounding offended. "We've done nothin' but help him and look where that gets us,"

"Torn's just being careful, you'd do the same thing if you were in his place," Nyx replied. "You never know who anyone is out here anymore, it doesn't just boil down to 'good' and 'bad' people. We've had some bad apples in the past,"

Jak gave a grunt of recognition at Nyx's words. "I know how it is,"

Nyx nodded. "I'm glad you do. But don't think he just loaned you out to Krew to test you. It's still helping us out in a slightly more abstract way," 

"Yeah, like that makes trapsin' through the sewers worth it, blech," Daxter complained, sticking his tongue out in exaggeration.

Nyx snorted and glanced over at Daxter. "If it bugs you so much, why are you doing it?"

"We need to get to the Baron, by any means necessary," Jak responded, not even looking over at Nyx as he spoke. She was looking at him, though, and caught a glimpse of what Torn must have seen in this guy's eyes when they'd met. It was a mix of hatred, pain, and full-on determination.

"Yeah, I kinda figured it was something like that," said Nyx, turning her eyes back to the road. "But don't get so caught up in your revenge that you lose yourself, okay?"

Jak finally glanced over at her now, trying to read her focused and nervous expression as she drove. "Why do you care?"

"I care about everyone," replied Nyx with a slight shrug. "Maybe it's unrealistic to want everyone to be okay, but I can try my best to guide the turn of events into that direction. It's all any of us can do, really,"

"Yeah, that definitely sounds unrealistic," Jak agreed, turning his steady gaze back to the road. 

Nyx sighed and adjusted her hands on the wheel, trying to hide how they were still shaking. "I know,"

The rest of the drive through Haven was spent silently, aside from occassional comments from Daxter. Nyx drove slow and careful, unlike Jak, so they made it to the hideout without having the KG chasing after them most of the way. Jak could have gotten them there faster, but definitely not safer. 

Nyx parked the zoomer by the door and placed it's keys back into the secret compartment. Jak had already headed for the door, and Nyx quickly scampered after him. Torn might have a heart attack if they came inside without her, and she'd rather avoid that. 

Torn looked up immediately upon hearing the door slide open, and his eyes locked on Nyx. There was a look of desperation in his eyes as she crossed the room to hug him. Jak had never seen the ex-Commander be any sort of soft, but clearly this woman was an exception. If it weren't for the fact that she was considerably younger than him, Jak might have suggested he was her boyfriend. Maybe her brother, perhaps? 

Nyx soon pulled back from the hug, smiling up at Torn as she answered an unspoken question. "I'm fine, Torn. Nothing more than a few scratches," the panic that had been in her eyes and voice beforehand was mostly gone now, though she didn't doubt that Torn could still see it.

The taller man seemed to study her a moment, trying to verify that claim, before he sighed and nodded. "How bad was it?"

"Metal Heads everywhere. I dunno where they came from. One minute it's all calm, and the next, they're pouring in from everywhere and we're running for the control room," answered Nyx.

With a sigh, Torn shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have let you go,"

"There was no one else to send, Torn, and we needed Vin's information. We're all alive, and that's what matters," Nyx replied. "There's not much else to say. Now, how about I go make us some food, and I can relay what Vin told me?"

"Ooh hey! Food sounds great!" Daxter piped up from where he and Jak stood near the door. "I can't remember the last time we had proper food!"

Nyx glanced over at the duo with a concerned look. "...Where do you guys even live?" she had a bad feeling that because of Jak's 'escaped prisoner' status, they didn't have anywhere to go.

"Usually the street," Daxter replied, a bit of annoyance in his tone. But it was also a resigned tone; He accepted that this was how it was. Jak didn't seem to have anything to say about it at all.

Nyx continued to stare at them for a moment. "I guess Torn didn't extend the offer of sleeping here, did he?" she glanced over at her comrade as she spoke. He rolled his eyes half-heartedly at her and gave a soft scoff. She knew why he hadn't done so yet... 

"Ya mean that's a thing we can do?" Daxter asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nyx nodded. "What do you think those beds are for? Members who find themselves between safehouses or unable to get to theirs. They're not there for show. The only people who really live here in the hideout are me and Torn,"

Daxter was silent for a moment. "So we coulda been sleeping inside, in actual beds all this time? Wow, thanks Tattooed Wonder,"

Torn gave a short growl, but Nyx's look of unamusement cut off whatever angry thing he was going to say. "I suppose I forgot to mention it," was what he settled on saying instead. 

Daxter snorted and crossed his arms. "Yeah, what a lovely thing to forget,"

Nyx sighed and rolled her eyes a bit. It didn't seem like Torn got along too well with these guys, did he? "Alright, can you guys get along and not kill each other while I go make food? Or do I have to commadeer one of you for help?"

"I do solemnly swear to not kill the Tattooed Wonder, as much as I'd like to," Daxter announced, placing one hand over his heart and the other into the air.

"I was a little more worried about Torn killing you," Nyx said, a hint of laughter in her voice. "But I guess that'll do,"

Nyx then headed into a back room that likely functioned as a kitchen, leaving Torn with his newest recruits. There was silence for a long and uncomfortable moment, before Torn pointed to a chair off to the side. "Sit. If you want,"

Jak hesitated a moment, before silently crossing the room to sit in the chair. It was Daxter who chose to comment. "Woah look, he's actually being civil! Looks like that lady's got an effect on you, Torn,"

Torn gave Daxter a fierce glare. "Don't get the wrong idea, rat. If you even suggest anything about her..."

"Suggest what? I wasn't suggesting anything, was I?" Daxter looked to Jak in a pointedly exaggerated way, and Jak rolled his eyes. 

Torn's eyes narrowed. "She's my sister, so you know,"

"Was I suggesting something else? She's totally too young for you anyways," Daxter teased. 

The ex-Commander grit his teeth and considered telling the smart-mouthed rodent off, but he figured that Nyx would probably hear him. And she hated it when there was fighting. So he bit his tongue, and tried to focus on his work. 

"Ooh, I hit a sore spot did I? So, how old are ya?" Daxter continued, despite Jak trying to tell him to shut up. 

"Why don't you just shut up, before I-" Torn's angry growl was cut off by Nyx re-entering the room, carrying a tray of sandwiches. 

Nyx gave Torn an unimpressed and knowing look. She could see the residual anger on his face and she knew he'd been in the middle of some kind of threat. After staring him into submission, she laughed and set the tray onto the table. "Order up!"

Daxter leaped off of Jak's shoulder to scamper onto the table and grab a sandwich. He wasted no time in shoving it into his mouth, and Torn thanked the Precursors for the rat having something else to do with his mouth.

Jak followed Daxter more slowly, taking a sandwich and then returning to his seat. He then watched as Nyx circled around the table to slap her hands onto Torn's shoulders.

"And you," she said as firmly as she could. "You need to eat, too,"

Torn huffed a sigh. "I'm fine,"

Nyx shook her head. "Nope, nuh uh. You skipped breakfast this morning. The world isn't gonna fall apart in the time it takes to eat a sandwich, okay?"

Torn gave another sigh, but gave up and reached across the table to grab a sandwich. He was going to get crumbs on his paperwork, but he supposed he'd have to deal with that. There was no use in arguing with Nyx about this; She had appointed herself everyone's caretaker of sorts.

Satisfied that she'd gotten Torn to eat something, Nyx flopped into the chair beside him and finally grabbed a sandwich for herself. "So. Wanna know what Vin told me?"


	6. Before, After, In-Between...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After locating Ashelin at the Pumping Station per Torn's orders, Nyx takes Jak and Daxter to see her friends Onin and Pecker. Onin tells Jak to go out to Haven Forest and collect some artifacts there. Somehow, that leads to Jak annihilating the Stadium's JET-Board course record... Daxter also manages to overstep his boundaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mentioned character Silas is an OC of mine. He's one of Torn's old KG buddies. He'll end up being slightly relevant later on.

"Did you find her?" Torn asked as Jak and Daxter entered the hideout for the second time that day. He'd sent them off to locate Ashelin, who'd gone out to the pumping station and couldn't be reached. He knew Ashelin was tough, but he couldn't help worrying about her.

"Yeah," Jak replied. "She's fine. There were some Metal Heads around, but we took care of it," he chose to not mention that she'd given him her security pass... Torn didn't need to know about that...

"You're welcome," Daxter interjected, sounding sort of annoyed about being an errand boy of sorts. An errand boy who did very dangerous errands...

Torn rolled his eyes. "I don't have any more missions for you right now, so you're free to go. ...Or stay, I guess," the last part of his sentence was only added because Nyx was in the room and he'd sadly promised to try being civil to the duo. 

"We've got business at the baazar, so we'll be going," Jak said, turning to head back towards the door. But before he could reach it, Daxter pulled on his ear and whispered something into it. 

Nyx and Torn watched as the two then proceeded to have a very quiet conversation, in which Daxter did most of the talking. Eventually, Daxter turned around and smiled with all his teeth. "Either of you know where some lady named Onin is? Miss Red said she's at the baazar but uh. Heck if we know where that is,"

"You're going to see Onin, huh? I can take you, I know where her tent is," Nyx said, setting down her clipboard.

Torn narrowed his eyes as Nyx got up. She gave him a 'I know what you're thinking so stop thinking it' look as she hefted a morph gun over her shoulder. "I'll be fine, Torn,"

Torn sighed reluctantly, and nodded. "Just keep an eye out,"

"KG are everywhere, I know," Nyx replied, and then turned to Jak and Daxter. "You two ready?"

"Born ready," answered Daxter, and with that confirmation, the trio made their way out of the hideout and piled into the nearest zoomer. Nyx insisted on taking the wheel, because Jak's driving was both dangerous and obvious. Jak thought his driving was fine, but chose to not argue; It didn't really matter who drove.

Daxter and Nyx ended up holding a conversation about nothing and also everything as they drove through the city. Jak remained mostly quiet throughout this, only speaking when a question was pointed at him. Nyx was starting to learn that he really wasn't very vocal or social. He was a bit like Torn; Only spoke when he needed to and only spoke to important people.

When they arrived at the baazar, Nyx parked outside of it, and they continued on foot. The baazar was crowded with people, all trying to buy this thing and that thing. All three Underground members looked around warily, staring at everyone as if they were a threat. It was a conditioned action; You had to be prepared for everything when you lived in Haven. Because living in Haven meant living with Praxis and the KG. You learned to be wary of everyone after a while. 

"Here we are," Nyx announced as they approached a large tent all the way in the back. No way Jak and Daxter would have easily found it on their own. Nyx pushed the tent flaps open and stepped inside, holding the flaps open for her companions.

Jak and Daxter followed behind Nyx, and Daxter immediately began staring at the monkaw that was hanging upside down from the ceiling. "Coooooll," the ottsel drawled. "Look at all the dead stuff!"

And then he made the mistake of poking the monkaw. Who wasted no time in biting the finger that was prodding him. Daxter exclaimed in pain, and yanked his hand back, glaring fiercely.

"Touch the goods again, rat boy, and you'll be counting with your toes!" the monkaw admonished, stopping to squawk in the middle of his sentence. He flew from his upside down perch to land on the very strange upturned hat of the very strange old lady sitting on the floor. "I, am Pecker,"

Jak and Daxter both chuckled to themselves, even though Jak tried his hardest to hide it. Pecker was not amused, and sighed to himself. "Yes, yes, I know. My mother, she was... Very vindictive. I, am Onin's interpreter,"

Onin then began motioning with her hands, and blue lights began dancing at her fingertips. Jak and Daxter both stared curiously, while Nyx was rather unbothered by this oddity. 

"Onin welcomes you, blah, blah, blah, blah, the usual boring salutations. She says it is good to see you again, Jak," Pecker said as Onin moved her hands rapidly, in something that was perhaps like sign language. 

"But we've never met before..." said Jak, crossing his arms over his chest. This lady knew his name (or at least Pecker did...), and it somewhat unsettled him. 

"Before... After... It is all the same," Pecker replied, waving off the comment. 

"Oh! Oh! Lemme try!" Daxter suddenly yelled, stretching out eagerly. Jak and Nyx both had a bad idea of what the ottsel was about to do. "Uuuh. She wants aaaa.... Yakkow bone? A yakkow bladder! No, no! I got it! For many moons, she has waited for... A juice pop? A jewel shop? Oh! Oh! I know! She's got a hairball! A hair lip! A hairy chest!"

Nyx had her head in her hands and was trying not to laugh at Daxter's terrible interpretations, but she was failing rather miserably. Jak, though much better at hidign it, also found his best friend's antics rather amusing.

Pecker rolled his eyes and flew across the room to perch on Nyx's shoulder, much like Daxter was doing to Jak. "Cloooosse," the monkaw drawled. "But no! Onin says you seek answers. About the tomb of Mar,"

Said symbol appeared in the air as Onin drew it with her fingers, and Daxter glared at Pecker as Jak responded to him. "So, what do we need to know?"

"She's going on and on about mystical energy channels, evil curses, stupid woooooooohhh crap," Pecker said, waving his feathers in the air to symbolize something of a superstitious nature. "But, forget all that! I'm going to sum this up quickly, because now you're cutting into my siesta time! Onin wants you to recover three artifacts from the Precursor mountain temple. Not two, not four. Three. Use the warp gate at the northwest side of the city, and bring back the three items you find,"

Pecker then leaped off of Nyx's shoulder and flew back onto Onin's strange hat. Upon their guests not immediately leaving, he motioned to the door firmly with one wing.

"Thanks, Onin, thanks, Pecker," Nyx said, motioning Jak and Daxter towards the door. She knew how serious the monkaw was about his downtime... "I'll see you guys some other time, yeah?"

Onin gestured and Pecker quickly began translating. "Ah, yes, of course. We look forwards to it. You still owe us after that last game,"

Nyx laughed. "You're right, I do. I'll see about paying you for that, okay?"

"You'd better!" Pecker warned, though it was a somewhat playful gesture. 

Offering one last smile, Nyx then lead her friends out of Onin's tent. As soon as they were out of earshot, Daxter leaned around Jak's shoulder to look at Nyx. "So, you know those two?"

"Mhm. They help us out on occassion. Onin's some kind of psychic, she knows what will happen before it happens or something," Nyx replied. "Doesn't mean she tells us everything, because she knows whether or not she's meant to,"

"Sounds kinda infuriating," Daxter replied. 

"Yeah, sometimes it is, but you get used to her cryptic messages after a while. And Pecker's not too bad either," responded Nyx with a shrug. "I've known them for a long time, now,"

"So we can trust them?" Jak asked, barely glancing over at Nyx.

Nyx nodded. "Yeah, you can trust them,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, Onin sends you to find artifacts, and somehow you end up annhilating the stadium's jetboard course, huh?"

Jak shrugged. "Krew said someone he knew was looking for new racers for her team, so we headed over there. She told us to try out the course, so we did," 

"Yeah, and we tore that baby up! Course record? No match for the demolition duo!" Daxter cheered. 

Nyx snorted. "Huh. I think I know the lady you're talking about, she's a great mechanic. Helps out the Underground on occassion. Hates Krew with a passion, though. Which makes it weird that he'd send you her way..."

"Well, that's not our problem," Daxter said, jumping off of Jak's shoulder to land on Torn's table. Said ex-Commander was currently studying a map and marking down things on it. Things that made no sense to Daxter whatsoever.

"I suppose it isn't. Maybe I'll ask her about it someday," Nyx replied with a shrug. "Anyways, how'd it go with the artifacts?"

Jak reached into the bag at his hip to pull out three small artifacts. "I sure hope these are what Onin was looking for, 'cause this is all we found,"

Nyx regarded the items from afar, wondering what they might be used for. One of them looked like it was a blue eco crystal... "Looks like old Precursor tech,"

"That's what I was thinking, yeah. What we're meant to use them for is still a mystery, though," Jak replied, shoving the items back into his bag. 

"I'm sure Onin has the answer for that. She'll let you know when she's ready for them," Nyx replied, kicking her feet up onto the table. Torn gave her a look for doing so, but otherwise allowed her to do it. She grinned at him before he returned to his work. 

Jak nodded. "Yeah. So uh. Do you have anymore work for us, Torn?"

"No," Torn replied, not even looking up from his maps and papers. "I'm still analyzing the data that Silas slipped me the other day. The eco shipments the Baron has going in and out are. Concerning,"

"Everything is concerning to you, Torn. We already know that he's giving eco to the damn Metal Heads. It doesn't even matter how much anymore," Nyx said. "He's still betraying his city and we still don't know why or what the Metal Heads are doing with the eco,"

Torn sighed. "I know. But the shipments to the Metal Heads are off record. Under the table kind of thing. These shipments are. For something else,"

"Unless Silas can find out what, I wouldn't worry about it, we've got more than enough to deal with right now," Nyx replied. 

Torn nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. But I'm gonna see about keeping an eye on things like that. If we have to, maybe we can intercept one of those shipments,"

Nyx hummed. "Depending on the security, that doesn't sound like a half bad idea,"

"Is this how you come up with all your ideas?" Daxter asked. "'Cause this don't sound very professional. You've got a teenager and an ex-soldier just bouncin' ideas off each other,"

Nyx shrugged. "It's how we work. And c'mon, Daxter, you guys are no older than I am. And you're out there doing all kinds of dirty work,"

"How old are you, anyways?" Daxter asked, turning towards Nyx and raising an eyebrow.

Nyx also raised an eyebrow in turn, smiling at Daxter. "Eighteen. You?"

"Seventeen. Damn, you're older than us," Daxter complained. "But Jak's like a mile taller than you!"

Nyx laughed. "Everyone's a mile taller than me. I take after my mom,"

"Speaking of parents, where even are yours?" Daxter asked, not thinking about what he was asking before he said it. He hadn't stopped to think about the fact that Haven was practically a warzone, and there was loss around every corner.

Torn's head snapped up so he could glare at Daxter, and the demolition duo suddenly got the feeling that Daxter had just crossed some kind of line. Nyx looked a bit startled by the question, but behind that, there was sadness.

"That's none of your business..." Torn growled, staring straight at Daxter. The ottsel flinched back and nearly fell off the table.

Nyx sighed. "Torn, stop it. It's a legitimate question, geez," 

Torn seemed reluctant to let it go so easily, but be finally heaved a sigh and stop glaring daggers at Daxter.

"I have no idea where my mom is, so my dad mostly raised me. He's uh. He's gone now," Nyx said, pointing this towards Daxter. It was clear that this was a slightly touchy subject for her, but she was trying hard to hide it. If she were a much meaner person, she knew that she could have thrown that question back in Daxter's face. But she wasn't that kind of person; She could figure that both of them had probably lost their families, too. And there was likely only one man to blame for it.

"Oh uh. Shit, I'm sorry. Didn't uh. Think before I opened my mouth, eheh..." Daxter gave a sheepish and apologetic grin as he nervously twiddled his thumbs. Wow, Torn sure was protective of his surrogate sister, wasn't he? Either that or there was a real complicated story behind why Nyx's father was no longer alive... Maybe both?

Nyx was quick to shake her head and also shake off the displeasure. "It's fine. We've all lost people. How about I uh. Go make us all some dinner?"

"Uuuh yeah," Daxter replied, leaping back up onto Jak's shoulder, where he was safe from Torn. "That sounds great!"


	7. The Rarity Of Eco Channelers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With help from Vin, Jak powers up the old B-Zone power grid, and manages to get up to the Baron's Palace, where the two have something of a showdown. The city is in chaos afterwards, and Torn tasks Jak with shuttling four compromised Underground members to new safehouses. Jak gets injured in the process, and Nyx reveals that she's an Eco channeler by patching Jak up.

Jak was feeling pretty pleased with himself as he walked back into the Underground hideout. He'd just broken into the Palace (a feat he doubted anyone had ever acomplished before), and given the Baron a good shake down. Maybe the bastard had gotten away, sure, but Jak had still riled him, and that was good enough for the time being.

Upon entering the hideout, however, Jak's good mood vaporized a little bit. The old man called Kor was there, and so was the silent little kid with green hair. Nyx was in a corner playing with the child, trying to keep him occupied. But there was a look of urgent concern on her face, behind the smile she tried to put on for the little boy. Said child didn't seem to buy the fake smile, and looked a bit concerned himself.

Kor looked vaguely disturbed as well, and Torn... Well, Torn looked absolutely furious. And when he saw Jak and Daxter enter the hideout, all that anger turned towards them. "The city's on high alert. What the hell'd you two do?"

"Us?" Daxter questioned, leaping from Jak's shoulder, to the table and trying to look innocent. "Nothing. We've been uhm... Sight seeing. Right, Jak?"

"Really? Then why are the Krimzon Guard looking for 'A dangerous young man with light hair, blue tunic, and a rabid orange rat on his shoulder'?" Torn demanded. With each word, Daxter became a bit more sheepish and guilty looking, and it only cemented Torn's suspicions that the 'demolition duo' had been up to something...

"Uuuuhh... Could be anyone!" Daxter exclaimed nervously, though he knew it was bullshit. "Orange is the new black this season!"

"Look," Jak interjected, not very impressed by Daxter's habitual lying. "We climbed up to the Baron's Palace and... We tripped a few alarms,"

"Oh, right, that, too..." Daxter muttered, having finally given up on convincing Torn they were innocent. 

"What?!" the outburst caught the attention of everyone in the room, including Nyx and the kid. The kid looked rather nervous about the increasing hostility in the room, and Nyx got up from her position on the floor to slowly approach Torn. 

"I didn't authorize a strike on the-" Torn began to yell, but was promptly cut off by Jak.

"Hey, we kicked the Baron's ass," Jak growled. "Unfortunately, he escaped,"

"And! We overheard a secret meeting with the leader of the Metal Heads!" Daxter announced, pretending to stage whisper to Kor. 

Kor's eyes widened as this news was presented to him. "You saw the Metal Head leader?" at the mention of the Metal Heads, the kid chose to hide behind Nyx, who allowed him to cling to her legs. 

"No, he was on some kind of communicator," Jak corrected. "But we heard him talking with Baron Praxis,"

"The Baron is bribing the Metal Heads with eco!" Daxter added on, gesturing wildly. 

Kor hummed and stroked his beard. "It will never be enough,"

"But the Baron's gonna double-cross 'em!" Daxter continued, still motioning rather vigorously.

"Is that so?" Kor mumbled. "Well, our good Baron's wonderful charm must've angered someone. Because there's word from the Wasteland that Metal Head armies are on the move again,"

Jak chose to ignore that piece of information, in favor of one he was much more concerned about. He slammed his fist down onto the table to get Torn's attention before he spoke. "Why didn't you tell me Ashelin is Baron Praxis' daughter? What's your connection with her?"

"That's none of your business!" Torn snapped, wheeling around to face Jak and give him a fierce glare. Nyx squirmed out from the child's grip, and moved forwards to grasp Torn's shoulder firmly, trying to tell him to reign his temper in. 

Torn glanced back at her and gave a defeated sigh. "...Since you've stirred up the wumpbee's nest, you and whiskers here get to move some of our people to new safehouses. Shuttle each agent to a location they specify. Move all of them without any casualties. Don't screw this up, Jak,"

Jak and Daxter exchanged glances, and then nodded to each other. Daxter reclaimed his shoulder perch, and the demolition duo were off. Nyx waited until they were gone before drawing Torn's attention to her.

"Torn, we've got so many guys out there who've been compromised... There's no way Jak can save them all..." Nyx said. "One man can't do all that by himself,"

"Who else do we have?" Torn asked, his voice sharp and low. 

Nyx stared down her best friend for a moment with a nearly defiant look. After a good few moments, she spoke again. "What about me?" 

"No," the answer was immediately growled out with no hesitation as Torn nearly glared over at Nyx. "You're not going out there,"

"Why not? You're sending Jak and Daxter, and they're younger than me!" Nyx protested.

"That's not what this is about," Torn replied. "I'm not putting you in danger,"

Nyx sighed heavily, and Torn knew that she was giving up. "Fine," she muttered, walking away from him. 

Torn almost felt guilty for shooting her down like that, but he had a promise to keep. "I'm sorry, alright? I know you want to help, but there's better ways for you to do that,"

"I know," Nyx replied quietly, turning her attention to the small child who was tugging at her pants leg and begging to be picked up. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was aproximately two hours later when the hideout door slid open again, and a very ragged looking Jak stumbled inside. Daxter was flopped over his shoulder, looking less haggard, but definitely tired and a little beat up. 

"Hey Tattooed Wonder!" Daxter yelled. "Your men are safe! You're welcome!"

Torn didn't know what to say to that as he watched Nyx rush across the room to help Jak into a chair. The young man all but fell into it, looking barely conscious. "Jesus fuck, what happened out there?" Nyx demanded.

"Lots of assholes with guns, that's what!" Daxter hissed, crawling off of Jak's shoulder to flop onto the table. "Do ya know how easy it is to blow up a zoomer? Really damn easy!"

Nyx was silent for a moment as she stared at Jak, who was struggling to keep a grip on his consciousness. She ran her eyes over him, her hands twitching with the desire to do something. Jak looked rather beat up, but it didn't look like he'd taken any hits to the head. That was good, at least.

What wasn't good was the dark stain on the left side of Jak's shirt. Nyx had a bad idea what it was as she reached out to touch it. Jak winced and growled at her, his hand coming up to firmly grasp her's.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Nyx whispered. "But you've been shot, Jak..."

This appeared to be news to Daxter, who immediately leaped up onto Jak's shoulder again. "Shot?! Jak, ya got shot an' didn't tell me?!"

Jak glared over at Daxter, but didn't say anything. He let Nyx's wrist go and instead used that hand to cover the wound on his side. Even Torn was looking at him with a concerned look by now, and Jak was defiantly avoiding everyone's eyes, choosing to stare at the floor instead. 

"Jak, c'mon! You're shot! This is serious!" Daxter yelled, and then leaped from Jak's shoulder to Nyx's. She staggered a bit from the sudden weight on her shoulder, but balenced herself back out rather quick. "You're gonna do something about this, right?"

Nyx nodded. "Of course I am. Jak, I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt, okay?"

Jak glared up at Nyx at first, but then sighed and nodded. She was trying to help, he had to remember... Wincing as he moved, he removed his eco ring, shoulder plate, and gloves, and then struggled to remove his shirt. It was discarded to the floor once it was off, and Jak stared down at it, feeling thoroughly exposed.

And there was a good reason for that. Nyx had to stop herself from staring, but it was hard to miss the array of lightning-like scars that covered Jak's chest. She knew what they were from immediately; She'd tried channeling dark eco once, and it had left a similarly patterned scar on her left hand. But the severity of Jak's scarring was... Disturbing to say the least. And she knew exactly why it was so bad. 

Jak had noticed Nyx staring immediately, but before he could say anything, she had stopped and was focusing on the bullet wound in his side. She looked at it for a moment before sighing and looking up at Jak.

"Alright. What I'm about to do does not leave this room, got it? Both of you," Nyx said sternly, glancing from Jak to Daxter as she spoke. Torn narrowed his eyes a bit and stared at Nyx, but she glared at him to tell him that he had no say in this. 

Jak nodded, but it was Daxter who chose to ask questions, as he'd noticed the exchange between Nyx and Torn. "Why? What are ya gonna do?"

Nyx chose to ignore Daxter, and instead moved to place her right hand over Jak's wound. Seconds later, and said hand began glowing green as she began channeling green eco into Jak's body. 

"Woah..." Daxter muttered. "You're an eco channeler?"

"Yeah, let's keep it between us, okay?" Nyx replied, glancing over at Daxter for a moment. "Eco-channelers are sorta rare these days, and you don't want the wrong people knowing you are one,"

Daxter hummed. "Where we came from, lots of people could channel eco. Even Jak can! ...Could? I dunno, haven't seen him do it since all the dark eco stuff..."

"I think I still can..." Jak replied quietly. "It's just harder to focus on,"

Nyx hummed and finally pulled her hand away from Jak's side, revealing that the wound was entirely gone now. Not even a scar remained of it. "I could help you re-strengthen those abilities, if you want. I've been told that I'm a strong natural channeler,"

"So's Jak! He can channel all four types of eco!" Daxter exclaimed. "I guess five now, too..."

"All four? Proficiently? Now that's rare. I can channel blue and green rather well, but red and yellow are a little dodgey," Nyx replied, grabbing a cloth so she could wipe the blood off Jak's side.

"The way I hear it, people who can channel more than one kind of eco are kinda rare," Daxter said. "Makes you two pretty special,"

Nyx nodded. "Especially considering the fact that channelers are ridiculously hard to find here in Haven,"

"So you two are like. Really special. Huh. What's the chances of you two meeting?" Daxter hummed. 

Nyx laughed a bit. "Probably kinda rare. I consider myself lucky that we have,"

Jak wanted to question that. Wanted to ask why she was lucky to know someone like him, because he sure as hell didn't feel lucky to exist. But before he could do more than look at Nyx, she had stood up, and Daxter was leaping back onto his shoulder.

Nyx scooped up Jak's bloody shirt, and then turned back to him. "I'll see about getting this washed, okay? Shower's over there, looks like you need one," she motioned her head over to a door behind Torn's table.

Jak nodded slowly, his mind still coming up with questions. "Thanks..."

Nyx smiled, bright and sincere. "Don't mention it,"


	8. A Little Backstory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Jak takes a much needed shower, Nyx and Daxter talk about what Jak was like before arriving in Haven and being tortured for two years. Nyx learns a lot about the 'Demolition Duo' through this conversation, and also shares her theory about why Jak survived the Dark Eco to begin with.

After Jak had entered the bathroom to take a much-needed shower, the hideout lapsed into silence. Torn left not long after, stating that he needed to meet up with a few operatives and figure out just what was going on (Which was a diluted way of saying he wanted to know exactly what Jak and Daxter had done while at the Palace).

That left Nyx and Daxter alone in the hideout, and for a few long moments there was nothing but the sounds of their breathing. Daxter was known for being a chatterbox, but right now he wasn't too sure what to say. He barely knew Nyx, after all.

It was Nyx who chose to eventually break the silence, wanting to voice a question she'd suddenly found herself with. "Hey, Daxter? Can I ask you a question?"

Daxter looked up, seeming a bit surprised by the sudden query. But then he relaxed and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Fire away,"

"I don't wanna. Overstep any boundaries or ask something personal, but this is something that kind of just occurred to me within the past ten minutes," Nyx began, not exactly meeting Daxter's eyes as she spoke. "It's no big secret what happened to Jak in prison. Half the city knows about the Baron's escaped experiment who goes all crazy with dark eco. We have a pretty good idea of what Jak is like now, after two years of whatever torture the Baron put him through. But. What was he like before?" 

The ottsel gave a breathy laugh, and his gaze then turned to the ceiling as he sighed wistfully. He was remembering Sandover, all the good times he and Jak had. "Man, that feels like forever ago. He was a lot different, I can tell ya that. Innocent. Well, maybe not innocent... He still laughed at my gross jokes and helped me pull rude pranks but he was... Pure-hearted? Maybe that's the word for it,"

"He was so brave and bright, so cheerful and goofy. Nothin' could get him down if it tried. He was so willing to help others, even if he got nothin' in return for it, he just liked to help," Daxter stopped there a moment, smiling at the memories. "Back then he didn't talk at all. I don't think anything was wrong with him, he could laugh, cry, grunt, yell, that kinda thing. But he just didn't use words. He was the only kid who ever gave me the time of day. 'Cause I used to be human, y'know?"

Nyx, who had been intently listening to Daxter despite her gaze being elsewhere, finally turned to look at him, looking shocked and confused. "You... Used to be human?"

Daxter nodded, humming an affirmative. "Yup. People used to tease me all the time about being ugly and having no family. And then Jak and old loghead show up outta nowhere, and this kid and I just clicked. We were best friends instantly, we didn't even need words. The other kids kinda stopped pickin' on me once Jak showed up, 'cause now I wasn't a loner. Jak showed me what having friends was all about,"

Nyx was quiet a moment, trying to organize everything she'd just been told. Daxter had once been human, and Jak used to be a pure-hearted goofball who liked to help people. "...It's hard to believe how easy it is to change people... I never would've guessed any of that,"

"Yeah," Daxter sighed. "There's a lot about us that ya can't see by just lookin', y'know? I think a lot of people are like that,"

Nyx snorted. "You're a lot more introspective than I think people give you credit for,"

Daxter gave a small laugh in response. "C'mon, I'm not stupid! Yeah, okay, I talk too much. But I know how to listen and observe, too. And I'm good at it, 'cause up until a lil' while ago, that's how Jak and I had conversations,"

Nyx hummed thoughfully, another question popping into her head. "How even did you guys go from... That to this?" 

Daxter made a small sound of displeasure, something too minor to be a true groan, but it was still very clearly not a happy sound. "That's... Complicated..."

"Complicated as in 'I don't wanna talk about it' or complicated as in 'I don't think you'd understand'?" Nyx questioned. 

"I don't think you'd understand..." Daxter replied, but then made a low humming noise. "Ya said ya channel blue eco, right?"

Nyx nodded. "Yeah, it's what I'm best at,"

"Okay, so then do ya know about Precursor tech? How ya need someone to channel blue eco to activate a lot of it?" Daxter asked, half expecting her to say no. He hadn't seen any Precursor tech since arriving in Haven, save for the odd orb or two. But surely it couldn't all have just vanished? Precursor stuff was frighteningly tough.

"Of course I do. I used to be dragged off by the KG to ridiculously remote areas to activate Precursor tech whenever the Baron found any," Nyx replied.

Now it was Daxter's turn to look a little shocked and confused. "So wait. You've got some kinda. Personal relationship with the Baron or something?"

"He knows me by name, so yeah," answered Nyx, shrugging slowly. "You know that Torn was in the KG, but so was my dad. He and Torn's parents were friends, and he kinda helped raise Torn, too. That's why anyone in the Underground will tell you that I'm Torn's sister without any hesitation,"

"My father was a Captain, and Torn quickly became a Commander, so Praxis trusted both of them. However, neither of them knew better than to let the Baron know that I could channel blue eco. He asked to meet me, and had me activate some little Precursor thing that I barely remember. The Baron was so pleased that he actually paid my father to drag me off to activate stuff," Nyx continued, sounding a little bitter and disturbed by the memories. "My dad and Torn always came with, but I still hated it a lot. The Baron creeped me out,"

"Yeah, he's a real creepy guy," Daxter agreed. "Using a kid for stuff like that is at the top of my nope list. Got put there after I learned what the 'good Baron' did to Jak..."

Nyx hummed sadly. "Yeah... That one. That one really takes the cake. There'd been rumors about the 'Dark Warrior Project' for a little while, but we had no idea that he'd gone through with it until you two showed up and Torn started asking questions to the right people..."

"It really pisses me off that he's got the nerve to do all this, y'know? Jak and I did nothing wrong. We'd just arrived in this awful city because of some stupid Precursor warp gate that screwed us over!" Daxter hissed, trying not to yell, lest Jak hear him from the other room. "And no sooner than we get off the floor, those KG jerks are arresting Jak and I'm running for my life!"

"So that's how it happened... I'd been wondering how the Baron got ahold of him... A real stroke of luck for him at the time..." Nyx mused, her brain slowly moving towards something a bit more morbid as she thought about what Jak had been through. 

Daxter narrowed his eyes slightly. "And why do you say that?"

"Because only a good eco channeler could survive two years of dark eco and still be sane. Dark eco kills normal people, in case you hadn't noticed. Jak's eco channeling as well as his body adapted to it, though. At least that's my theory. Whatever happened, it's because he's a channeler, and it saved his life," Nyx explained.

"Oh. So if someone who's not a channeler was injected with the dark stuff... They'd die?" Daxter questioned slowly, raising a brow.

Nyx nodded. "Yeah. The Baron got very lucky when he found Jak, since eco channelers are hard to find. I think I'm the only other one he knows about, and..."

"And...?" Daxter pressed, having noted how Nyx trailed off. Was she about to say something important?

Nyx hummed quietly, contemplating if she should voice the concern that was now on her mind. Soon enough, she decided to go for it. "...And I think that if Torn hadn't left the KG after my dad died... And took me with him... I might've ended up just like Jak..."

Daxter was quiet a moment before speaking again. "Right... Because you're a channeler. He wanted to use ya from day one, didn't he?"

Nyx hummed an affirmative. "Yeah. He likely didn't expect Torn to leave and take me to the Underground. I guess Torn saved my life that day,"

"So he's useful for more than barking orders, huh?" Daxter joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "Good to know,"

Nyx snorted out a quiet laugh. "He's good for more than that. He's just. Hard to get used to,"

"You can say that again," agreed Daxter, heavy sarcasm in his voice. "I'm pretty sure he wants to kill me,"

"I'm sure the thought has crossed his mind. But he values Jak, so he won't hurt you," Nyx assured the ottsel. "He's not the kind of guy to kill comrades,"

"Yeah sure," Daxter drawled. "Comrades,"

There was another brief pause, before Nyx spoke up again. "Y'know, Daxter? You really deserve more credit than you get,"

To this, Daxter raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"Sticking with Jak after everything that's happened. I can't see any of that innocent kid you described to me in him. All I see is anger and violence. But you still stick with him because he's your best friend, despite everything about him having changed," Nyx explained. "I've never seen two people so close before,"

Daxter gave a small laugh. "Yeah, Jak and I are kinda special. Even now, we don't need words to have a conversation. You definitely wouldn't see any remains of young Jak in the hardened exterior he puts forth, but I do. He's just a scared kid under all that anger, I can tell,"

"I can't imagine what he's been through..." Nyx mumbled. "The things that monster did to him..."

"I don't even wanna know the specifics," said Daxter, shaking his head. "I'm pissed enough at that asshole,"

"Everyone's pissed at that douchebag for one reason or another. Jak's got probably the best reason, though. Dark eco is. Pretty nasty shit,"

"...Got any experience with it?" Daxter asked slowly, both curious and apprehensive.

Nyx hummed to confirm and pulled off her left glove. On the back of her hand was a faint lightning-like scar. "I tried channeling dark eco once, because I was curious and dumb and wanted to know what would happen. It hurt like hell, and left this scar, but I was otherwise fine,"

"Huh. Dark eco really is something. I mean, it can turn Jak into a crazy powerhouse, and me into a small furry thing," said Daxter, gesturing to the fact that he was indeed a small furry thing.

"Is that how it happened? Dark eco turned you into an ottsel?" Nyx asked. "I've never heard of that happening before..."

"Neither have I. But I swear on my tail that's how it went. We were at this place called Misty Island, and we ran into some Lurkers and one kinda cornered us. Jak threw some piece of Precursor tech at it, which handled the problem just fine. Except for the fact that he kinda accidentally knocked me back into this pool of dark eco. And when I crawled back out - Bam! - Furland," Daxter explained. 

"Wow. You two have some seriously bad luck," Nyx muttered. 

Daxter shrugged. "Well, we're still alive, aren't we? And I managed to break Jak out of prison after searching for him for two years. I say that ain't too bad," 

Nyx gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess those are two good bullet points. Everyone has bad stuff happen to them, but you guys kinda take the cake on that front,"

"I'm kinda inclined to agree. I mean, you saw all those scars Jak's got. That shit must've hurt like a bitch," Daxter said. 

"Yeah... Yeah, that's what dark eco does... I got off lucky by only touching a little bit of it... But Jak? The way I hear it, he was pumped up with it... And for two years? No wonder those scars are so bad..." Nyx mumbled, glancing off to the side. Her own dark eco scar pulsed with a phantom pain as she tried to think of how much pain the Baron must have put Jak through. 

Daxter nodded, hummed, and was about to say something else. But then the bathroom door swung open, and Jak stepped out. His wet hair was splayed out across his bare shoulders, and Nyx once again couldn't keep her eyes off the vivid scars all over his chest, even as she pulled her other glove back on. 

"Well that took you long enough," Daxter quipped as Jak crossed the room to sit in a chair across from his friends (Though was Nyx really a friend? Or just a business aquaintence? He wasn't sure, but he trused her at least).

Jak shrugged, but said nothing. He was aware of Nyx trying to find other places for her eyes to be, and it was definitely making him more than a little uncomfortable. 

Daxter was about to try coming to Jak's rescue, when Nyx stood up and started digging around in some drawers along the wall. Eventually, she came up with a plain t-shirt, and handed it off to Jak. "We keep some spare stuff around, just in case. Probably won't fit right, but it'll do until yours is clean,"

"Thanks," Jak said quietly, pulling the article of clothing over his head. "And uh. Thanks for taking care of that wound..."

Nyx smiled as she reclaimed her seat. "No problem,"


	9. Not a Clean Cut Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was supposed to have been a routine mission to collect information from a trusted informant. But when do routine missions ever go as planned? Their informant ends up caught, which leads Nyx and Jak to run for their lives. Nyx ends up getting shot, and she get to see her first glimpse of 'Tall, Dark, And Gruesome'. As Jak tears apart KG soldiers, Nyx is forced to open fire on another squad that was attempting to corner them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place after Jak and Dax meet the Shadow, and this was originally going to start with them talking about the conundrum of them being from the past, but Samos being younger. But that just didn't work out with the rest of this.

It was just meant to be a simple info drop. Meet their informant at the docks, hear what he had to say, and then get back to the hideout. Nyx wasn't even sure why Torn had sent Jak and Daxter with her, it was such an easy thing, and she'd done it before all by herself.

But now she was thanking her lucky stars that Jak and Daxter were with her, as they sprinted down the streets of Haven, with a squad of Krimzon Guards behind them. Their informant had been caught, and the guard had set up a trap for whoever came to meet him. Nyx probably wouldn't have made it this far if she'd come alone.

The trio had something of the upper hand for the time being, because Nyx had wasted no time in beginning to channel blue eco through her body and into Jak, giving them both a significant speed boost. But the guard were persistant, and some of them were rather agile. The streets of Haven were by no means a labyrinth, and that made it hard to get around enough corners before the guards caught back up to them.

Nyx was starting to fear that they were going to have to turn around and fight. Or at the least, Jak was going to have to. This turned out to be true, though it didn't happen the way either of them would have liked it to. 

Jak registered the sound of the shots at the same time he felt the stream of eco abruptly stop. And then he heard the scream and felt Nyx's hand be wrenched out of his. It was only a moment later when she hit the ground, and Jak saw the stain of blood on her clothes.

Before he realized it was happening, a low growl started in Jak's throat, and dark eco began crackling around him. Then an animalistic yell escaped his lips as the eco burst forwards from under his skin. It took all the color of Jak's hair and skin with it, and blacked out his eyeballs, turning them into endless inky pools. His nails sharpened into long black claws, and matching horns burst forth from behind his goggles.

The transformation only took a few seconds, and within the next few, Jak was on top of the guards that were approaching them. Daxter leaped off Jak's shoulder as he charged, and scampered over to Nyx's side as he heard screams of pain behind him. It was best to keep his distence from that... 

Nyx was writhing on the floor, clutching a place on her side where a yellow eco bullet had torn through her. Being shot sucked, she decided, as she tried to clear her mind and focus on whatever it was that Daxter was saying to her.

"Oh my god, Torn's gonna kill us both for this," were the current words spilling from Daxter's mouth, as he tried really hard to not panic. 

Nyx wanted to console Daxter and tell him that she wouldn't let Torn kill him, but at that moment she couldn't get her vocal chords to work. She was in shock and pain, and she had no idea how to respond to it. 

She knew that she needed to stop the bleeding, and she knew that she could do that if she could just focus on her eco channeling. But her mind was fogged by pain, and it was so hard to concentrate. Still, she pulled on the remaining green eco in her body, and tried to seal the oozing wound at her side. It started off slow, but eventually she focused enough to begin the process. She knew she probably wouldn't have enough eco to entirely mend it, but there was hopefully enough to dull the pain and stunt the bleeding. 

It took entirely too much concentration, but when she ran out of eco, the wound looked as if the bullet had only grazed her, but it still hurt pretty bad. It was enough relief to allow her to properly focus on what was happening, though. 

Nyx dragged herself into a better position so she could see Jak, having finally noticed the sounds of agony that were coming from his direction. ...And she was incredibly surprised to see the scene he was creating. "Woah..."

"Yeah uh. Maybe you shouldn't watch that..." Daxter said, trying to grab Nyx's shoulders and get her to look away. 

But Nyx refused to budge, staring in awe as Jak ripped the guards to pieces, his claws and teeth shredding armor like it was nothing. Suddenly she understood why people called him a monster. He was incredibly powerful, and anyone who stood in his way had no chance. 

Despite the fact that Jak was a one-man army, the guards weren't going to give up so easily. They were still sending in reinforcements, and Nyx started to wonder how long Jak could keep this up. His current form was a type of eco channeling, wasn't it? So if he ran out of eco...

That train of thought had to abruptly stop, as the sounds of footsteps behind them caught the attention of Nyx and Daxter. "Shit," Nyx hissed as she saw that another squad of guards were approaching from the other side of the street. Which meant they were now cornered. 

"Oh shit, oh shit," Daxter mumbled, ducking closer to Nyx. "Jak! There's more of 'em!"

But Jak was too occupied with the group that had followed them in. And Nyx quickly realized this. She was in a position she'd never been in before, and she made the one choice that seemed logical; Fight. 

Nyx reached over her shoulder to unholster her morph gun, and she scrambled to her feet, wincing as the tear in her side pulled. She heard Daxter yell at her, asking what she was doing, but she ignored him. If she stopped to think about it too long, she'd chicken out, and she knew it. 

She cocked the gun and set her jaw, then steeled her nerves and held down the trigger. Vulcan Barrel bullets flew down the street and struck the first few guards. It took a few rounds to take down each one, but the Vulcan Barrel fired at ridiculously fast speeds.

Nyx tried to not think about what she was doing as she kept the trigger held down and tried her best to properly aim at the guards. Torn always insisted that she take a gun when she left the hideout, but this was the first time she'd ever had to use it...

When the last guard finally slumped to the ground, Nyx finally stopped shooting. She stared for a moment at the bodies and the pooling blood that she alone was responsible for, and then realized that the screams of agony behind her had stopped. She turned around slowly and met eyes with Jak, who was no longer in a dark eco fueled rage. 

He was covered in blood, and surrounded by corpses. Considering the fact that he'd just amassed all those corpses without a second thought, he looked a bit guilty about it. 

With shaking hands, Nyx holstered her gun and tried to not cry. It was over now, but that had been the most terrifying thing she'd ever experienced. It occured to her then, that this was what a lot of Underground members did everyday. Torn had been shielding her from it, but now she couldn't believe the risks these men and women took every day of their lives. 

"Holy shit. Alright," Daxter sighed, scrambling back up to Jak's shoulder. "You two okay?"

Nyx nodded slowly, though she felt anything but okay. "Yeah... I think so... Let's... Get back to the hideout..."

"How bad are you hit?" Jak asked, his voice sounding raw. 

"I dunno. I fixed it up the best I could, but it's still bleeding," Nyx replied, feeling numb and dizzy. She just wanted to get back to Torn, and her body was already on auto-pilot as she walked past Jak.

Jak caught her arm, though, and forced her to stop. "We need to find a zoomer. You can't walk all the way back like that,"

Nyx sighed, but nodded. Jak was right, a zoomer would get them there faster. And all Nyx wanted right then was to put all this carnage behind them. "Okay... Sure..."

Jak narrowed his eyes and studied Nyx for a moment. She was definitely in shock or something, she wasn't herself. He started leading her down the street, guiding her carefully. "C'mon. Stay close,"

Nyx didn't complain as Jak pulled her through the streets and over to a zoomer. He'd learned to recognize the secret Underground markings on the vehicles, and could spot them from a mile away now. "Get in, I'll drive,"

Nyx didn't even say anything as she got into the passenger's seat. Even as Jak started speeding down the roads, she remained quiet. Jak glanced over at her as he drove, worried if perhaps the blood loss was getting to her. "Hey? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, you're being all spacey," Daxter added, leaping from Jak's shoulder to Nyx's lap so he could stare up at her. 

Nyx looked down at Daxter and then plopped a hand onto his head. "I'm fine. Just. Never done that before,"

"Done what?" Jak asked as Daxter unsucessfully protested against being pet. 

"...Kill someone..." Nyx replied quietly. "It's not as easy as Torn made it sound..."

Jak sighed, understanding the feeling entirely. "No, it's... Not..."

"But we had to, right?" Nyx asked, looking over to Jak. "We had to fight for our lives, didn't we?"

Jak paused a moment before answering, unsure what to say. "Yeah. We did,"

"But. But those guys were just fighting for what they think is right, too... We think they're all horrible people, but we probably look no different to them..." Nyx mumbled, on the verge of tears now. Daxter had stopped protesting being pet by now, and was letting Nyx run her fingers down his back. Looked like she needed the reassurance...

Conversations like this weren't Jak's strong suit, they really weren't. But he understood where she was coming from. "That's how war works. Each side thinks the other is a monster. People on both sides are gonna die. You've just got to. ...Focus on what you think is right. Don't sympathize with your enemy,"

"That's easier said than done..." Nyx muttered as they pulled up to the hideout.

"...I know," Jak replied, stepping out of the zoomer.

Daxter leaped out of the zoomer and onto Jak's shoulder again, and Nyx slowly pulled herself out of the vehicle as well. Jak hovered near her in case she fell, and lead her to the door. 

"Torn's totally gonna kill us for this..." Daxter muttered into Jak's ear as the door slid open. Jak rolled his eyes as they entered the hideout.

"Sweet mother of Mar," Torn hissed the moment he laid eyes on the trio. "What the hell happened!?" and he was at Nyx's side in an instant, ushering her into a chair.

"It was a trap," Jak announced. "Our informant got caught, and the KG left a nasty little surprise for us,"

"Shit," Torn growled, and then turned to Nyx. "Are you hurt?"

Nyx pulled the side of her shirt up to reveal what now looked like a simple graze wound. She wasn't going to tell Torn that it had been worse if she didn't have to... 

Torn hissed lowly as he saw the wound. "Can you fix it yourself?"

Nyx nodded. "Just get me some more green eco,"

Torn nodded and headed into the storage room. Nyx turned her tired gaze over to Jak, and looked him over. "Are you hurt, Jak?"

Jak shook his head. "No, nothing serious. I'm alright,"

Nyx nodded and then turned her gaze to the floor. She was starting to really wish that today had never happened. 

Torn came back from the storage room and handed Nyx a case of eco vials. She removed two of them, and poured their contents into her hands, absorbing it into her body. As she did, the wound on her side began to fully seal, and within a few moments, was gone. 

"There. Good as new..." Nyx mumbled, handing the case back to Torn. 

Torn took the case and set it aside. Then he turned to Jak. "You should get cleaned up, I don't want blood and guts all over the place,"

Jak nodded and headed for the bathroom. Daxter dismounted as he passed the table, and then scampered back over to Nyx's lap. "You sure you're okay?"

Nyx nodded. "Yeah. Better now that I'm not bleeding anymore..."

"How did that even happen?" Torn asked, trying to make it sound casual.

"We tried to run," replied Nyx. "Thought that maybe with some blue eco we could escape. But they fired at us and one of the bullets caught me..."

Torn raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting the rest of the story. Nyx sighed. "And then Jak did. Whatever he did when he met Kor. The thing with the dark eco. And he tore the guards to pieces..."

"I like to call that 'Tall, Dark, and Gruesome'," added Daxter, trying to voice it as if it were funny.

"I suppose it fits, doesn't it?" Nyx mused. "I can't believe how strong he is..."

Daxter hummed softly, looking concerned. "Are ya scared of him now?"

"No..." Nyx answered. "...I turned my back on him while he was like that, and he didn't come at me. He stopped once they were all dead..."

"So he's got some kind of self-control?" Torn questioned, curious about his newest recruit. Information about him was still hard to pry out of him.

Daxter nodded. "I think so. He doesn't do it because he likes killing or nothin'. It's a defense mechanism, I think. Happens when he's pissed or threatened. He has a hard time not lettin' it happen, but he's never turned on anyone friendly,"

Torn hummed, but didn't say anything. The way the KG spoke about him, they made him sound like a ruthless monster. But Daxter seemed convinced that this wasn't the case.

"I can't imagine what it's like for him..." Nyx mumbled. "He doesn't mean to brutally kill people like that, does he?"

"No. In fact, he threw up the first few times it happened. He's still not used to it," Daxter answered. "It's hard having dark eco in your system that makes it really easy to piss you off,"

"Do you think he could ever turn on someone who's not an enemy?" asked Torn, glancing sidelong at Daxter as he shuffled through papers. 

Daxter narrowed his eyes upon this question, not liking what Torn was implying. "If you piss him off enough and make him feel threatened, sure, maybe. But you'd really have to piss him off,"

Torn didn't say anything to that, and just returned his attention to his work. This kid was really something, wasn't he? Torn still wasn't sure if he could trust him... But he'd saved Nyx that day, so he supposed he owed the kid something for that...

The room fell silent after that, and this left Nyx thinking about the people she'd shot that day. She knew she shouldn't feel guilty about it, because you can't fight a war without killing anyone, but actually ending someone's life wasn't a clean cut thing. She wanted to tell Torn, but she wasn't sure how he'd react to something like that. 

Daxter waved a hand in Nyx's face to get her attention. "Hey, you keep spacing out, everything okay?"

"Yeah..." Nyx replied, clearly having been thinking about something else. "I just. Never thought I'd have to..."

"Have to what?" Torn asked, having caught her sentence as it trailed off. Now he was a bit concerned...

Nyx was silent as she moved her hand to run it over Daxter's back again. She focused on him as she answered. "While Jak was dealing with one group of soliders, another came from the opposite side of the street... I had no choice but to open fire on them..."

Torn sighed heavily. He'd wanted to keep Nyx away from this kind of thing, and clearly for good reason. She wasn't made for killing people. "I don't really know what to tell you. Killing people isn't easy, and you're not supposed to feel good about it,"

"I know. But. I didn't think it would feel like this. I mean, the Baron's an awful person but. Those soldiers are probably just trying to fight for their city and what they think is right..." Nyx mumbled.

"But working for the Baron isn't right," Torn corrected her. "He's corrupt, and so is his army. You know that I know this,"

Nyx sighed, scratching behind one of Daxter's ears. "Yeah... I guess so..."

"If you're lucky, you'll never have to do that again," said Torn. "I never wanted you to in the first place,"

"I know. You're trying to keep me away from it all. Maybe if you hadn't, I'd be able to take it better. ...But you're just doing what you think is right, I understand that," Nyx replied.

"Glad you do," Torn said, and that was apparently the end of that conversation. 

Daxter had long since noticed that Nyx's hands were shaking; She was clearly shaken up about all this. So he swallowed his pride and let her pet him, it seemed to be distracting her. 

When Jak emerged from the shower, Nyx was still running her fingers through Daxter's fur, and the ottsel had resigned himself to laying in her lap like a cat. Jak noticed this immediately and had to force himself to not smile. Daxter glared at him, not missing the faint twitch of his best friend's lips. 

"Hey, you should get yourself cleaned up," Jak said as he crossed the room, directing this at Nyx. 

Nyx hummed in surprise as she was addressed, and looked up at Jak. Her eyes lingered momentarily on his scars again, but she forced them to rise up to his face. "Oh. Uh. Yeah... Yeah, I probably should..."

Nyx shifted in her chair, prompting Daxter to jump off her lap. She stood from her chair and made her way towards the bathroom door. As she went, she pointed to the drawers at the side of the room. "We keep our spare clothes in there, find something to wear until we do laundry again,"

"Got it," Jak replied, heading towards the drawers to search through them. 

"Oh, and uh. Daxter?" Nyx stopped in the door of the bathroom to address the ottsel that was investigating various empty bottles on the floor. He looked up upon being spoken to. "Thanks,"

It took Daxter a moment to realize what he was being thanked for. When he did, he smiled wide. "Hey, no problem!" 

Jak glanced over at Daxter and had to smile, now. Looked like he wasn't the only one who was starting to really like her.


	10. Racing, Theories, And Being Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After reuniting with Keira, Jak wins the Class Three race, much to everyone's surprise. Nyx shows up at Keira's garage afterwards, and they all theorize about what's going on with Samos and all the time travel. With Jak needed at the Underground again, he acompanies Nyx back to the hideout, and manages to say the exact wrong thing to her.

Nyx watched with baited breath as the crowd went wild around her. She didn't get the excitement of racing, she really didn't. It wasn't exciting, it was downright terrifying! People lost their lives on the track entirely too often, and there was always some public scandal going on. Even during a war, the media still dominated the market, it seemed. 

But, when she'd learned that Jak (and by extention, Daxter) was going to be racing for Keira's team, she knew she had to watch this particular race. She wasn't sure why, but it was clearly because of Jak and Daxter.

Watching the vehicles speed along at breakneck paces was unnerving enough, but watching them bang into each other and the walls around them was even more flustrating. There was also the fact that the course had hazards on it; A nearly bottomless chasm on the left side of the track at one point, and another small chasm later on that had to be jumped with a ramp. 

One guy had already missed the ramp...

With the speeds the drivers were going at, it was almost hard to keep track of where Jak was. It was the telltale yellow/green hair next to the orange of Daxter that helped her keep tabs on him. And he was doing a surprisingly good job. More than good. He was already in fourth place by the second lap. 

The guys in third, second and first weren't too keen on giving up their places though, and made it clear that Jak was going to have to fight if he wanted to take them. Nyx could imagine the determined and almost angry look that was likely on Jak's face as he accepted this challenge and stepped up his game. 

It took a few precise turns and properly used boosts, but Jak finally managed to breeze by the guy in third, taking that rank in the race. The guy in second wasn't too far ahead, and Jak prepared to swerve around him. 

That guy decided that he wasn't going down easy, however, and kept blocking Jak as he tried to cut around him. So Jak decided to brute force his way through, and ram his vehicle into the other one. 

They were close enough to the wall that the force of the collision caused the other driver to smash into it. His vehicle exploded into a firey mess, and Jak claimed second. Nyx stared at the burning wreckage, almost having forgotten that Jak was just like everyone else in Haven; Not afraid of busting a few heads open if he had to. 

She supposed that made her not like everyone else in Haven, didn't it? She'd only just killed for the first time a week ago, and she still wasn't over it. That was why someone else always had to be protecting her; She wasn't a fighter. In some ways, she envied people like Jak who could handle themselves.

The guy in first place was probably shitting himself as he realized that Jak was gaining on him as the third lap began. Jak was a scary good driver, and was navigating the course as if it had been made for him. 

As Jak came up behind the guy in first, Nyx had the feeling that this guy stood no chance. Jak was determined, and above all else, not scared of pain or death. This gave him the upper hand, as the other driver definitely still valued his life enough to not risk it. 

A sharp swerve to the side and a properly timed boost was all it took for Jak to breeze into first place. The other guy probably could have blocked Jak as he swerved, but he clearly still had some form of self-preservation that told him to not get in Jak's way. Which likely saved his life in the long run. 

But Jak wasn't out of the woods yet, he still had to finish the race, and keep himself in first. The ranks were still swapping madly behind him, and it looked like the guy who had been in third was really trying to catch back up. He'd already passed the guy who'd been in second, claiming third for himself again. But that was likely as far as he'd get, Nyx assumed. 

The finish line was approaching quickly, and Jak wasn't slowing down one bit. He soared over the finish line in record time, and the crowd went wild. Even Nyx found herself cheering loudly. She'd been quite terrified that Jak would die out on that track, and it occurred to her that this was a completely personal fear. She hadn't even thought about how the Underground would fare if they lost their strongest asset. No, she was worried about Jak because she wasn't sure what she would do if she lost him. 

Nyx wasn't too sure what exactly this meant, but she decided to not think about it too hard, and instead revel in Jak's win. She knew he was just racing so that he could get at the Baron, but he would also be giving hope to the people of Haven if he kept winning. 

The clearing of the stadium after the race was always a tedious and long process, but Nyx eventually made it out of the stands, and started heading for Keira's garage. She wasn't sure how Jak and Daxter knew Keira, but obviously they knew each other well if Keira let them race for her team. Keira was always ridiculously picky about racers. Nyx remembered that she had a thing for a some KG Commander who's name she couldn't currently remember, simply because he was an outstanding driver. Nyx wasn't sure if that was being shallow or not...

Nyx arrived at Keira's garage in time to see Jak setting down the huge trophy, and to hear Daxter start boasting.

"When is this city gonna provide some real challenge, huh?" the ottsel asked, holding his head high as if he'd been the one driving. 

"Wait 'till you get to the class 1 race," Nyx said as she strode into the garage. "If you even do,"

"Nyx!" Keira exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you here!"

Nyx shrugged. "Yeah, I had nothing better to do. Torn's grounded me from actual outside the hideout work. But he didn't say anything about watching races," 

"Wait, you two know each other?" Jak asked, looking between Keira and Nyx with a perplexed look. 

Keira nodded. "Yeah, whenever I work with the Underground, I usually work with Nyx, since she manages all the supplies,"

"That's right! You said you knew the lady who gave us the jetboard challenge!" Daxter exclaimed, as if everything suddenly made sense to him. 

"Mhm. Keira does a lot of our vehicle repairs, which have to be done a lot. Especially with you two around," Nyx said, grinning playfully at Jak. "Anyways, great driving out there. It's not often that a first-timer places top three, let alone wins,"

"Most of them crash and die..." Keira added, sounding disturbed by this. 

"Well we ain't like 'most of them'," Daxter drawled, flapping his hands at Keira. "We're hardcore! Right, Jak?"

Jak chuckled a bit and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Dax. We're hardcore,"

Daxter grinned wide at Jak's affirmation, and held his head high. Jak shook his head and then turned to Nyx. "So you say Torn grounded you?"

"Yeeeeaaaahhh... Strictly paperwork for me until he untwists his panties," Nyx replied. "I think he's being a little silly, but I understand why he's doing it,"

Daxter snorted at the mention of Torn and panties in the same sentence, and tried really hard to not actually laugh. Jak glared at him half-heartedly, but it did nothing to help.

"Did something happen?" Keira asked curiously, but also with concern.

"Yeah, we went to an info drop, and found a little KG ambush waiting for us. I got shot, and if it weren't for Jak, we wouldn't have made it out," Nyx replied. "It scared the shit outta Torn, though, and now I'm almost on house arrest or something,"

Keira hissed lowly. "Ouch, that doesn't sound fun. I understand why Torn's got you on a leash, though. You're all he's got left,"

"I know," sighed Nyx. "Which is why I'm not protesting too much. Anyways, you two seem to know each other?"

Keira's face brightened up as her relationship with Jak was brought up. "We're childhood friends! We've known each other since like. Forever!"

"Yeah, and let's not forget that old loghead is her father!" Daxter chimed in.

Nyx stared at Daxter, thoroughly confused. Her and Torn hadn't quite figured out how Jak and Daxter knew Samos, but... "He never mentioned having a daughter..."

"It's... Complicated..." Jak said, sharing a look with Keira. 

"Yeah, it is kind of complicated, but I think you'll understand," said Keira. Jak gave her another look, but she glared him into submission, and began explaining. "Two years ago, we all lived in this village called Sandover. And we found this old Precursor Rift Ring. When we activated it, it threw us many hundreds of years into the future,"

Nyx stared for a moment, contemplating the idea of time travel. "Time travel...? Daxter said something about Precursor tech dumping him and Jak here... But time travel has never been documented before... That's... Amazing..."

"Yeah! And y'know that 'sacred site' out in Dead Town? That was Samos' hut back in Sandover!" Daxter exclaimed. 

"But how is that possible? How can Samos exist hundreds of years ago, as well as now?" Nyx asked slowly. "I'm not trying to discredit you or anything, I'm just. Confused,"

Keira hummed. "Well, is it possible that the Samos here will eventually go back in time, perhaps? And then he'll become the green eco sage we all know from Sandover?"

"That might explain why your father is older than the Samos here, but. Why would that happen?" Jak asked.

"Good question," Keira hummed, clearly having no answer. 

"It's a mystery," Nyx sighed. "Hopefully it'll clear itself up eventually..."

Keira nodded. "Yeah. But the one question I have is, where is my father? The one who came through the Rift Ring with us?"

"We don't know..." Jak sighed, shaking his head. 

Nyx hummed. "I could try digging around, see what I can't find...,"

"I would really appreciate that," replied Keira. "I've been really worried about him..."

Jak reached over to awkwardly place a hand on Keira's shoulder. "I'm sure he's fine. Your father knows how to handle himself,"

Keira nodded slowly. "I know. But it's been two years..."

"Yeah, a lot can happen in two years. But he's a tough guy, he'll be alright," Jak said.

"I sure hope so," Keira sighed. 

There were a few beats of silence, before Daxter decided to break it. "So, Nyx. You enjoy watching us race today?"

Nyx snorted softly, accepting the change of subject. "I'm not a big fan of racing. I only watched today because I heard you guys were racing. It's too nervewrecking for me, too many guys with deathwishes. But it makes sense that you'd get a kick out of it, Jak,"

Jak shrugged. "Never said I get a kick out of it. I'm just not scared,"

"Not scared, deathwish... Same thing," Nyx drawled. "Speaking of deathwishes and the like, Torn's looking for you,"

"Ah, of course. Our work is never done, is it?" Daxter sighed. "Well, we better get movin', Jak,"

Jak nodded. "We'll see you later, Keira,"

"Alright. Good luck, Jak!" replied Keira as her friends started for the door. "Don't die!"

"I don't plan on it," Jak called back. 

The trio all piled into one zoomer to return to the hideout, with Jak taking the wheel. "So, what's Torn got for us this time?"

"The Baron's called in some 'Elite Hellcat Cruisers' to beef up his forces. They're real menaces, we've already lost like five guys this week," Nyx explained, shaking her head. 

"Your men should be able to look after themselves," Jak replied, not even thinking about what he was saying.

Nyx glanced over at Jak, looking vaguely hurt. "Do you really not care...?"

"Am I... Supposed to?" Jak asked, beginning to realize that he'd said the wrong thing.

"Well. Yeah, sort of. You're part of the Underground now, you should care about the people you work with... Or do you only care about getting to the Baron so you can get revenge?"

Jak was silent in response to that, not sure what to say. It was true, he didn't care quite so much about all the other people who were fighting this cause. He just wanted payback. He hadn't thought about it much, how selfish it was. But now that Nyx was questioning it - Questioning him - he realized how awful it made him sound.

"Jak, buddy. I think you messed up," Daxter hissed into Jak's ear.

"I'm sorry..." Jak mumbled, not knowing what else to say. 

Nyx didn't look at him as she replied, instead staring at the buildings as they drove past. "Me too..."

Jak averted his gaze from the road to stare at her, now. "What? Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry that the Baron did this to you. Daxter said that you loved helping people just for the sake of it when you were younger... And now all you care about is getting revenge, and it's all Praxis' fault..." Nyx muttered, still staring out at the cityscape.

Jak sighed, feeling guilty for starting this by saying the wrong thing. "I didn't mean to make you think I don't care..."

"Then what did you mean?" Nyx asked, finally looking back over at him.

"I don't know," Jak replied exasperatedly. "I just said it without thinking. Maybe some part of me doesn't care... But I wish I did. I don't want to be used to all this,"

"Nobody does, pal," Daxter said, patting Jak's head. "But if I know anything, it's that you're a good guy, Jak. Even if you're all messed up,"

"I agree..." Nyx said quietly. "Even when you talk without thinking..."

Jak was quiet for a moment as they pulled up at the hideout. "...Thanks,"


	11. What You Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After assembling the Seal of Mar, Jak, Samos, and Kor take the Kid to the recently-uncovered Tomb of Mar. Meanwhile, Baron Praxis threatens his own daughter's life, forcing Torn to tell him where Jak would be. Jak and Daxter enter the tomb before the KG arrive, unknowingly leaving the others to be arrested. On the other side of town, Nyx is also caught by the KG, who were at the Hip Hog to arrest Tess. Things go completely south afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've come to the conclusion that I love hurting my self-insert as an in-universe reason to explain why I'm a huge mess. I seem to also have a trend of sending myself to prison in chapter nine of my stories, which makes them rather difficult to write.

This was not at all how Nyx expected her morning to go... Torn had finally 'ungrounded' her after nearly two weeks, and of course she got into trouble on her first time back out. Either it was really bad luck, or the Baron knew more about them than they'd realized...

Nyx was desperately hoping it was just bad luck as she sped through Haven at speeds she'd never dared go at before. She wasn't much of a defensive driver, but right now she had to be. She'd seen Jak and Torn drive, it couldn't be that hard, right?

Well, when your hands are shaking and you're nearly blinded by fear, it's hard to drive in any capacity at all, let lone defensively. Nyx turned to look behind her at the three Hellcats that were steadily gaining on her, and cursed. How did Torn outdrive guys like this?!

Speaking of Torn, he was going to have a yakkow when he heard about this. Especially considering the fact that Tess had somehow been discovered and arrested... Nyx had been tasked with delivering a package to Krew, and was instructed to meet up with Tess while there. But when she'd arrived, Tess was being lead out in handcuffs, and the KG immediately spotted Nyx and gave chase. 

Nyx had no idea what exactly was going on, but she knew it couldn't be good. She'd wanted to fight as she watched Tess be shoved into the back of a Hellcat, but better judgement told her not to. The fact that she'd wanted to fight was new, though. And she wasn't sure what to make of it. She entirely blamed Jak for it, though.

Nyx shrieked as something rammed into her from behind, almost throwing her over the front of her zoomer. Looked like the guards had caught up to her... She slammed the gas pedal down even harder, but she was already pushing the zoomer as fast as it could go. These things just weren't meant for getaways, they were civilian vehicles. 

"Pull over!" a guard yelled. "You are under arrest!"

Nyx cursed under her breath again and took a hard right, trying to put some more distence between them and her. The Hellcat crusiers were larger than normal zoomers, and thus turning was a little different with them. Hopefully they couldn't navigate corners as quickly as her small one-seat zoomer could.

A quick glance behind her confirmed that yeah, that had put a very slight amount of distence between her and her pursuers. Feeling slightly victorious, Nyx turned back to the road ahead.

...And then she had to quickly slam down on the brakes and come to a complete and utter stop. She stared in dismay at the line of crusiers that had assembled at the other side of the street, blocking her path. Her zoomer had come to a halt mere feet away from them, and she would have hit them had she not slammed the brakes when she did. 

The guards before her all had their guns raised, and she knew she stood no chance. Even if she had any blue eco in her body, she couldn't outrun these guys. It was over...

"Do not resist, you are under arrest," a voice instructed from beside her. Moments later, and she was being dragged out of her vehicle. A second guard cuffed her hands, and then the two lead her towards a Hellcat, and shoved her into the back of it. 

Yeah, Torn was definitely going to throw a fit about this... Nyx was so in shock that this was literally the only thing she could think of. The ramifications of what had just happened hadn't quite hit her yet, even as the Hellcat started driving through Haven.

The ride felt long and suspenseful, made worse by the fact that Nyx couldn't exactly see where they were going from the back cage of the Hellcat. She noted that she often saw vehicles like these transporting Lurkers, but they were also used for prisoners. 

That was what she was now, Nyx realized as the Hellcat came to a full and complete stop. She was a prisoner now, and prisoners went to jail. As she was dragged out of the cage, she knew where she was without having to look. She was at the Baron's prison, the same place that Jak had spent two years of his life in. 

Other Hellcats were present in addition to the one that had brought Nyx in, and they were all unloading prisoners. There was of course Tess and various other Underground operatives, but Nyx was shocked to see the Shadow being lead away in cuffs. Sweet mother of Mar, if they had the Shadow...

Nyx looked around rapidly, looking for Jak and Daxter. She knew they'd gone with the Shadow to open the Tomb of Mar with the kid, and if the Shadow had been captured...

After scanning the area various times, Nyx was relieved to not see Jak or Daxter there. If those two were still out there, then they still had a chance. Besides, Jak didn't deserve to go back into that horrible place. He'd probably rather die than do so. 

One by one, all the new prisoners were lead into the prison, and down it's many corridors. They passed various cell blocks, but stopped at none of them. Instead, they entered a smaller cell block in the very back of the building. A sense of dread settled into Nyx's chest as she saw what the room contained. 

In the center of it was a large metal chair with restraints on it. And above it was some dastardly looking contraption. Standing by this thing was Baron Praxis himself, and a Commander that Nyx recognized as Errol. Now she really had a bad feeling about this.

Each prisoner was lined up before the Baron and Errol, and the Baron seemed to study them quietly. His eyes were settled on Nyx when he chose to finally speak. "Ah, Nyx. It's good to see you again. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Nyx narrowed her eyes and glared as hard as she could, trying hard to not show her fear. "Not long enough," 

"You should really have more respect for the man who now holds your life in his hands, you know," Errol said, almost growling the words. "We can easily end it,"

"But you won't," Nyx hissed, her voice wavering. "You need me. Just like you needed Jak,"

The Baron hummed softly, and then smiled. "Very true... Lock them all up, but bring her here,"

A cold feeling of absolute dread hit Nyx like a bullet train as the Baron ordered his men to bring her to him. She'd known for a long time what would likely happen if the Baron got a hold of her, but she'd never thought it would ever happen...

There were vague protests from the Shadow, Tess and the various other operatives, as they were lead to their cells, but the guards kept everything under control with quiet threats of violence. Meanwhile, Nyx was lead along a walkway, and made to stand before Praxis and Errol. Both looked rather villainous as they stared her down. 

Then, Praxis stepped aside, and motioned to the chair. "Strap her in,"

It was here that the reality of the situation finally hit her, as the handcuffs were removed and she was forced down onto a chair of cold steel. She was going to end up like Jak, wasn't she? There was no way out of this...

She tried to fight as she was restrained, but the guards were just too strong. Soon enough, she was strapped to the chair, and could barely move. She found herself staring up at the horrible-looking machine, which she realized was a giant needle of sorts. And she really hated needles...

"I trust you can handle this, Commander?" the Baron asked, turning to Errol. "I have business to attend to,"

"Of course, your highness," Errol replied. "I doubt she'll be any trouble,"

The Baron nodded to Errol, and then exited the room. Once he was gone, Errol turned to the control panel by the terrible machine. "This is probably going to hurt..." he purred. "A lot,"

Nyx stared up at the giant needle as it began moving down, panic and dread making her chest seize up. "Jak is going to come for us," she found herself blurting out in a cracking voice. "He's going to find us and he's going to make you regret all of this!"

Errol laughed in response, the arrogant bastard. "I doubt that,"

Nyx glared at Errol as hard as she could manage, but then had to turn her attention back to the needle that was making it's way towards her chest. It was dangerously close now, and Nyx was not looking forward to it making contact. She was scared out of her mind, but she wasn't going to cry, she told herself. She wasn't going to give Errol that satisfaction. 

But crying wasn't what Errol wanted. Crying wasn't enough. Making people cry was so easy, it was child's play for him. No, he wanted to break people. And this was the best way by far to do so. 

Nyx's whole body shook as the needle closed in on her, and she set her jaw, determined to not freak out. She only felt the pain of it piercing her skin for a split second, before a different kind of pain exploded through her body. 

It was so cold it felt like it was burning her from the inside out, and it took all the air from her lungs as it did so. Her whole body felt as if it were being constricted and pulled at, and it blinded most of her senses. 

She wasn't even initially aware of the fact that she'd started screaming. But soon the sound of her shrill yells registered in her ears, though it was hard to believe or understand that she was hearing herself. 

The pain of fire and ice warring under her skin was blocking out nearly everything but the pain, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered shouts that were not her own. But for the life of her, she couldn't place who they were coming from. She just couldn't think, she was too preoccupied with being set on fire and frozen at the same time. She couldn't tell if it was so cold it felt hot, or so hot it felt cold. She didn't exactly care to know, all that mattered was that it hurt so bad she wanted to throw up.

It seemed to last forever, for an eternity. A very painful eternity. But eventually, it stopped. It was an abrupt end, as the eco stopped flowing into her, and the needle pulled out of her skin. She collapsed back against the chair, not even having realized that her spine had arched as she'd tried to struggle.

Her body still felt cold inside, but also hot. It was still in her brain, too, making thoughts hard. But now that it was over, she could hear the other yells in the room. 

"What do you think you're doing to her!?" it was Tess, and she sounded downright pissed. "Leave her alone!"

"Oh? Are you saying you wish to trade places with her?" Errol asked, the simple sentence sounding so threatening.

Through the haze of dark eco, Nyx registered the threat, and forced her raw throat to work. "No,"

Errol glanced over at Nyx and gave a venomous smile. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Leave her out of this," Nyx rasped. "I'm the one you want,"

"You're just like your father, you know," Errol purred. "It's such a shame that he had to go,"

Nyx continued to glare at Errol, even as her vision wavered. "Yeah, sure. Without him in the way, you can do whatever you want to me..."

Errol smiled again. "Exactly. That's why we had him killed,"

It was one of those moments where the world underneath Nyx felt like it had just bottomed out. The death of her father had been planned? Ordered? All because the Baron wanted to turn her into a weapon? Nyx wanted to yell at Errol, but her body wasn't responding. Her vision was fading away and so was everything else... 

The last thing she heard was Errol laughing.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her throat burned as she collapsed back against the metal chair that no longer felt too cold. Her vocal chords felt raw as she stared at the swimming ceiling. This was how her meetings with Errol always went. And not a day went by that they didn't happen. How many days had it even been?

She turned her head to stare at Errol as he did something with the console by the horrible Dark Eco machine. As she tried to get her vision to focus on him, she found herself thinking about the rather morbid situation she was in. She was ridiculously out of it, and thus voicing whatever thoughts that came into her head sounded like a really good idea at the time. So she did.

"You're not gonna get what you want..." Nyx rasped, speaking to the back of Errol's head.

Errol hesitated a moment before turning around to glare at her. "Excuse me?"

"You're not gonna get what you want," Nyx repeated, a little firmer this time.

"And what is it... That I want, pray tell?" Errol asked, striding up to the chair that she was strapped to.

Nyx glared into his awful yellow eyes, and then smiled. "To make me a monster. A weapon,"

Errol raised his eyebrows, but it wasn't in surprise. It was more like he was mocking her. Then he laughed. "We'll see about that. You've seen Jak. Spend enough time here and you'll be just like him,"

"Still," Nyx hissed. "You're not getting what you want. You think you made a monster out of Jak, but you didn't..."

Now Errol looked intrigued. "Oh really? Perhaps I was wrong then... You haven't seen Jak..."

"No, I've seen him like that. I've seen the famous 'Dark Eco Monster'," Nyx replied weakly. "I got shot once, and he transformed to protect me. And then I turned my back on him and he never once made a move for me,"

Errol glared at her, not sure what to say to that. So she grinned at him and continued. "He's no monster. He's a survivor, and he's a fighter. But he'd never let anyone innocent get caught in the crossfire. He's still a good guy, despite everything you've done to him. And when I get out of here, I'll still be a good person, too..."

Errol scoffed, and then laughed. "Like you're ever getting out! And regardless of that, Jak's killed hundreds of men. Violently ripped them apart. You know what else does that? Metal Heads..."

Nyx narrowed her eyes at the Commander. "He's nothing like them! He's not a monster... He fights the KG because you try to kill him everytime you see him! Because you're a menace to the people! I've seen your people kill civilians, and you even told me that the Baron ordered the murder of one of his own! Jak would never do anything like that!"

Errol watched her closely with intrigue, as she started to yell and tried arching her body towards him, as if she could hurt him. If he looked close enough, he could see Dark Eco sparking off of her body. He grinned, even as she continued talking. It had taken a lot longer for Jak to start showing any signs like this...

"If there's anyone here who's a monster, it's you and Praxis! You're the ones torturing kids and trying to turn them into monsterous weapons! But you failed with Jak, and you'll fail with me! We will forever be better than you!" Nyx hissed. She wasn't sure why she was so goddamn pissed off, but she was. It had just suddenly hit her. Maybe Errol laughing at her and comparing Jak to the Metal Heads had helped it along, too...

Errol grimaced at her now, and then proceeded to slap Nyx across the face. "Watch your mouth, brat!"

Nyx felt her teeth dig into her lip as she was struck, but she reaquired her lock on Errol's eyes as soon as she could. She spit blood at him, and kept talking. "If it were you being tortured by some manical asshole in some deep dark basement, would the Baron send someone to get you? I'll bet you anything he wouldn't. If the enemy killed you brutally, would he mourn you? Would he vow to win the war in your honor? No! But my people are absolutely coming for me! Jak and Torn are coming for me!"

Errol grit his teeth. She was getting on his nerves now... But he forced himself to grin devilishly, fingers twitching towards his gun, making sure she could see. "And if you die in here?"

Nyx grinned back. "Jak will tear you apart and make sure that you're thinking of me as you die. And they will remember me for as long as they live, and they'll win this war to get revenge for my death. Torn remembers the names of every man and woman he's lost. Does the Baron even care when he loses a team? Does he care about the people? Or just the manpower he doesn't have anymore?"

Errol snarled, and with one smooth motion, had leaped onto the chair to wrap his hands firmly around Nyx's throat. "You think you know him, do you? You think he's not fit to rule this city? You think your little pal Torn could do any better? I knew him when he was in the KG, and he's weak. He's not fit to lead anything! He couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag! The Baron's seen real war, he knows how to lead! And he's going to lead this city into greatness!"

Nyx scoffed, despite the fact that Errol was choking her and making breathing hard. The pain made her realize though, that it was the Dark Eco in her veins that was making her so pissed at him. And she wanted to give up. Wanted to stop fighting. But she couldn't do that. No, she couldn't let Errol win. "Greatness, you say? What kind of greatness could there be... When he's beaten and scared his people into submission...? When he's..." she stopped to try taking another wheezing breath. "...When he's taken all their rights and forced them into poverty... When he's willing to kill everyone in the slums just to cripple us... He doesn't care about his people... Never did. He just cares about being the big man in charge... He wants... To play God... And he doesn't give a fuck who has to die... The only reason he's fighting the Metal Heads? So they won't take away his little playground..."

Errol growled and used Nyx's neck to slam her head into the cold metal chair. It forced the rest of the air out of her lungs, and then she went limp. She wasn't quite unconscious, but she wasn't fighting him anymore, either.

"Learn to keep your mouth shut," Errol growled, removing himself from the chair to stare at her. "The Baron's rules keep these people safe. And one day, they'll know it,"

Nyx was quiet a moment, and Errol almost thought that he'd killed her by slamming her head too hard. But then she looked over at him.

"It only keeps them safe because he's taken away their ability to be anything other than law-abiding robots..." Nyx whispered. "A true ruler shouldn't have to scare his people into supporting him,"

Errol scoffed and grit his teeth again. "Well then I guess it will be a shock when you're proven wrong," and with that, Errol began to walk away. But then he stopped, and turned around to look back at her and grin.

"If you live long enough to see it, that is,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How long had it been, Nyx wondered? It couldn't have been a week yet, could it? The Baron ordered dark eco treatments as often as possible, and that left Nyx unconscious for long stretches of time. Her sense of time had thus become rather skewed. 

She could feel it building up inside her. She could feel her body and her eco channeling abilities somehow adapting to the normally deadly thing that was dark eco. It was subtle, but she could feel the cold burn of dark eco in her veins, could feel it crackling within her. How much longer would it take before she ended up like Jak?

Jak... He was going to come for them, right? Jak wouldn't just leave them to rot in prison, knowing what went down in there. And there was no way Torn would just take this sitting down, either. He'd bend Heaven and Hell itself to get her back, she knew it. 

So they were going to come for her, weren't they? They had to, she decided. She had to cling onto that hope, else she might just lose her mind. 

The tapping of feet outside the cells caught Nyx's attention, and she grimaced. Errol was probably back to give her another dose of dark eco, wasn't he?

Her cell door clicked open with a buzz, and started sliding open. She expected to see Errol there, looking at her with that sick grin on his face. But Errol wasn't there... A glance out the door revealed that all the cells in the block were opening...

Was this really happening? Nyx hauled herself to her feet and rushed out of her cell to see her fellow inmates and comrades all stepping out of their cells as well. Her eyes scanned the crowd of people, and then she found what she was looking for. 

Jak saw her in the same moment she saw him, and they locked eyes. Without even realizing it, he was striding towards her. "Are you okay?" he asked as he grabbed her shoulders.

Nyx stared up at Jak, and then to Daxter, who looked vaguely haunted. Then she dragged Jak into a hug, plastering herself to his chest. "I knew you'd come,"

"There was no way I wouldn't," Jak replied quietly, accepting the hug despite the spontanity of it. Nyx was shaking, she was clearly scared and needed the reassurance. 

"Hey Jak, while this is touching and all... We really gotta get everybody outta here," Daxter said, tapping Jak's head. 

Nyx pulled away from Jak and nodded. "You're right. Who knows when the next patrol will come by,"

"Everyone! Get through the warp gate!" Jak yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing towards the now-activated gate in the block. "Vin's reprogrammed it to take us to the power station!"

With those words, everyone started for the warp gate, clearly in a hurry to get out of there. The only ones who stayed and waited with Jak were Nyx, Tess, and... Two Samos'...?

"Hey Jak, does this by chance answer the question of where Keira's father is?" Nyx asked as she stared blankly at the two green men. 

"Yup," was all Jak could think of to say as he also stared. 

"Good to know," Nyx replied as she watched the two men start to argue with each other. They were saying something about the kid... 

Daxter rolled his eyes. "Alright, grandpa green, stop arguing with yourself, and get through the damn gate!" 

Though they both protested being spoken to like that, both Samos' gave up their argument and leaped through the warp gate. Tess followed them, and Nyx was next. 

Jak hesitated a moment, looking around the room that he'd called his home and his prison for two years. He then shook those thoughts from his head, and jumped through the warp gate. 

Jak teleported in at the power station, where only Nyx remained waiting for him. "The others have gone ahead to report to Torn. I uh. Wanted to wait for you,"

Jak snorted. "Thanks. You never answered my question though. Are you okay?"

Nyx's eyes fell to the ground and her hands started shaking. She didn't know how to say it. She didn't want to say it. Finally, she looked up, and met eyes with Daxter. "Dax? Remember what I said to you after Jak got shot that one time? About... About eco channelers...?"

Daxter sighed sadly and tried to not outright grimace. "That's what I was afraid of..."

"Either of you care to enlighten me?" Jak asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone. He didn't like being the only one to not know. Though he had a sinking feeling in his chest about this whole thing...

Nyx swallowed hard and tried to not cry. "You know what that chair's for, Jak..." she forced the words to come out of her mouth, and they were the only words that she could bring herself to actually say. She couldn't entirely accept what had happened, yet. She just couldn't...

Jak stared at her, his worst fear having just been confirmed. He wasn't sure why, but he was downright pissed that the Baron had dared to even touch Nyx. He didn't know what he was supposed to say, and she looked so damn broken as she stared at him. So he closed the space between them as quickly as he could, and brought her into a hug that was just little bit too forceful.

Nyx accepted the gesture, wrapping her arms tightly around Jak and pressing her face into his neck. She'd never noticed it before, but now she could sense the dark eco in his body. It was so slight, but it was there. 

"I'm so fucking sorry," Jak hissed after a moment. "I should have come sooner,"

"It's not your fault," Nyx mumbled into Jak's skin. "It's no one's fault, except that son of a bitch Errol, and of course Praxis,"

"Torn might disagree..." Daxter mumbled.

Nyx looked up finally, to get both of them into her view. "What do you mean?"

Jak sighed heavily, hating to be the one to tell her this. "Praxis threatened to kill Ashelin for helping the Underground... To save her life, Torn had to rat us out,"

Nyx stared in complete disbelief, and she felt the eco in her veins spark just a bit out of rage towards Praxis. "...That son of a bitch..."

"Who? Praxis or Torn?" Daxter questioned.

"Praxis!" Nyx replied. "He's got nerve, that jackass... Oh man, Torn's gonna blame himself for this..."

Jak gave another small sigh. "Yeah, he... Probably is,"

"I don't know how I'm going to tell him..." Nyx mumbled, trying to hold back tears again. 

Jak threaded his fingers through her hair gently, trying to comfort her. "I don't know how to make it better, but... You don't have to do it alone,"

Nyx smiled up at Jak and rubbed at her eyes. "Thanks,"

"C'mon," Jak said, his voice softer than Nyx had ever heard it before. "Let's get going,"

Nyx let Jak lead her out of the power station and onto the streets. They quickly found a zoomer, piled in, and started back for the hideout. The ride was spent in silence, no one knowing what to say, not even Daxter. 

Nyx's chest felt like ice as they pulled up by the door and saw that Torn was waiting outside for them. For her. Tears pricked at her eyes and she didn't know what she was supposed to say. 

Torn was already heading towards her as she got out of the car. Before she could say anything or even look up at him, he was crushing her to his chest. She accepted the embrace, and noted that Torn was... He was shaking? She'd never seen him do that before, ever. 

"Tess told me," Torn mumbled, just loud enough for Jak to also hear. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault,"

Nyx pulled away from the hug and stared up at Torn. "No. No, please don't blame yourself. I can't take that. This isn't your fault, you didn't know... You didn't know Praxis wanted me..."

"I should have! And I shouldn't have rolled over when he threatened Ashelin..." Torn growled, reaching up to cup Nyx's face. "I promised him, in his dying breaths, that I'd protect you..."

"You did the right thing. He would have killed her. The way things worked out, we're all alive," Nyx said, trying to keep the waver out of her voice. "I'm alive, Torn. And we're going to make Praxis pay,"

Torn stared at her for a moment, and then shook his head. "Let's get inside..."

The four made their way back into the hideout, which was currently empty. Not even the Shadow (Either of them...) was there. Nyx all but collapsed into a chair, and Daxter leaped onto the table in front of her. 

"You're taking this pretty well," Daxter mused, tapping his chin. 

Nyx sighed. "I don't know how to take this at all, Dax... I'll be honest with you, I feel like hell and I'm terrified... But I can't let it bring me down... Can't give him that satisfaction..."

"You're just like your father..." Torn said, almost chuckling. "He never let anything faze him, he let everything motivate him instead,"

Nyx stared at the table as Errol's words flashed through her head. He'd said the same thing, but he'd meant it in such a different way. "Well then I guess I should let what I learned in there motivate me, shouldn't I?"

"What did you learn...?" Torn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...That they had him killed... So they could have me..." Nyx mumbled, choosing to stare at Daxter's paws instead of looking at Torn. 

Torn was silent a moment, his mouth hanging open. "...What?"

"Errol said that the Baron ordered the death of my father. That way he could use me in his experiments. He didn't count on you leaving and taking me with you," Nyx explained quietly. 

Torn's eyes were wide and there was a mixture of betrayal and anger on his face. "He really is fucked up..."

"And he's going to pay for it," Jak said, coming up behind Nyx to grasp her shoulders gently. "Now more than ever,"

"Yeah!" Daxter exclaimed. "No one messes with our friends and gets away with it!"

Nyx wasn't sure why, but it was nice hearing Daxter call her a friend. It was good to hear that she had something good in her life that wouldn't leave her. It left her feeling just a little less cold. 

"I'm gonna need some time to get more intel, make a plan. But we need to start thinking about how we're going to end this," Torn said, starting to shuffle through his papers and plans. 

Jak nodded. "I agree. The 'good Baron's' been in charge long enough. He's caused enough pain,"

"Oooh, looks like shit's gettin' serious," Daxter hummed. "I like it!"

"It's time to give 'em hell, isn't it?" Nyx asked.

Jak gave a devilish grin that Nyx didn't see, but she could hear it in his voice. "Oh yeah,"


	12. Try Talking About It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tess arrives at the hideout to find Nyx alone, and starts talking to her about what happened in prison. Tess thinks that maybe talking to Jak would help. Nyx isn't entirely sure about that, but gives it a go anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmm emotions. I love writing things like this, they're my favorites. I've been meaning to write some Nyx/Tess hurt/comfort after what happened in prison, and I finally got to! And as a bonus, it turned into an awesome bonding scene with Nyx and Jak!

Nyx sat at Torn's table, her chin resting on her hands, which were atop said table. This was the first time she'd been alone in the hideout since Jak had sprung her from prison, and she was finding the silence to be strangely unnerving. Maybe it was because there was nothing around to distract her from the subtle hum of Dark Eco in her veins?

She still wasn't used to it... It was ingrained into her senses, now. Into her instincts. It was literally a part of who she was, now, and she had no idea how she was supposed to deal with it. If she got mad, it would spark and flare up inside her chest, crackling with anger and the desire to act upon her emotions. It was even worse if she was scared; It would jolt through her like firecrackers then, sometimes even beginning to spark off her skin as if she were a frayed wire. 

And maybe she could deal with the physical feeling of the Eco bubbling and crackling under her skin and in her veins, but that wasn't where the affects of Dark Eco stopped, no. They also served to cloud her judgement, or rather, alter it; Trying to convince her that it was okay to lash out at anything that crossed her, and made her want to act like a wild animal when frightened. It made her more likely to act without thinking, throwing herself into situations she normally wouldn't. It erased her inhibitions and fears, making her reckless and determined to do whatever she'd set her mind to. 

She'd always had a bit of a temper when she was young, it was a trait she got from her father, for better or worse. And the Dark Eco played with that, made her easier to stress out. Suddenly, she could understand why Jak's fuse was always so short. 

She was still having trouble deciding if the Dark Eco was hot or cold. Sometimes it felt like it was ice in her veins, freezing her and making her feel bitter. And sometimes it was like fire shooting through her blood, making her hiss and spit her words in pure fury. And then other times it felt like it was both; So cold that it burned, or so hot that it turned her frigid. She still wasn't sure how it worked...

The only somewhat beneficial thing that the Dark Eco did was sharpen her senses. It only happened when it was violently coursing through her body, but it made everything clearer. She could see better, hear farther, and think faster than she normally could. She was also quite certain that it made her physically stronger than normal, as it made her feel like she could take on the whole world if she wanted to. 

But those benefits were ingrained deep in all the negative affects of the Dark Eco, making them barely worth having at all. She couldn't use them without letting the Dark Eco cloud her mind and make her feel like a cornered animal who needed to attack. 

Nyx couldn't imagine how much worse it had to have been for Jak... Despite struggling to handle the new type of Eco in her body, Nyx had done surprisingly well at not losing her cool at every turn. She'd lose her grip on it for a moment, snarling or shouting out a few sentences, before she'd reign herself back in and calm down, shoving the Dark Eco back into the crackling ball in her chest. 

Jak couldn't seem to do that. If he lost his temper, that was it. He would go Dark and tear apart anything that got in his way. That day where they'd almost been caught was proof of it. Jak could barely contain himself, and it was to the point that he almost seemed mad all the time. Even when he was calm and having a rational conversation with her, he was tense and rigid. 

And she only knew a fraction of how bad it must have been for him. They'd deduced that there wasn't enough Dark Eco in her body to allow her to transform like Jak did, otherwise she likely would have done so by now. She had so much more control than Jak did, but that almost didn't matter. It still hurt, and she knew that neither of them deserved to have to deal with this. 

Nyx was roused from her depressing thoughts by the sound of the door sliding open behind her. Looked like someone was finally back. "Nyx?"

Nyx lifted her head to look behind her at the blonde who was entering the hideout. "Hey, Tess,"

"Hey," replied Tess, setting down some crate by the door. Then she noticed how off Nyx looked, and her eyebrows wrinkled with concern. "Are you okay...?"

Nyx nodded and tried to smile. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just. Haven't been alone in a while..."

"Oh... Do you maybe want me to stay with you for a bit? Krew isn't expecting me back for a while," offered Tess, her eyes soft and kind.

Nyx shrugged. "I won't stop you if you wanna. But I'll be okay if you don't,"

Tess pursed her lips, and then moved to take a seat by Nyx. "I think I'll stay. You look like you could use the company,"

Nyx tried again to smile, but by now, she was feeling too drained to really try hard enough. Usually she was the master of faking it, but not today. "Thanks, Tess. Guess it's been a while since we've talked, anyways,"

Tess hummed, contemplating if she should bring up every time she shouted across to Nyx's prison cell, trying to make sure that Errol hadn't killed her... Yeah, maybe she shouldn't... "Yeah, I guess it has. We've been pretty busy with the war and all,"

"Yeah," Nyx replied somberly. "...You think we're gonna win?"

"Of course we are!" Tess insisted. "I don't know how, but we're gonna! We've got to!"

Nyx chuckled slightly. "I guess you're right. We do have two things that the Baron never will,"

Tess raised an eyebrow now. "And what's that?"

"Torn and Jak," Nyx answered. "With the two of them combined... Yeah. I think maybe we've got this..."

Tess hummed quietly. "...But you're still scared that we won't?"

Nyx sighed softly, staring down at the table. "Yeah. I am,"

"Well... We haven't lost until we're all dead, and I think we're doing pretty good at not dying so far!" Tess said decidedly. She was always the optimistic kind, wasn't she?

And yeah, perhaps that was true... But the Baron had managed to catch their leader once... If it hadn't been for Jak, who know what might have happened. But Nyx didn't want to say that. Didn't want to put out the little flame that Tess clearly had. No, she'd keep her depressing thoughts in her own head. Maybe save them for a conversation with Daxter.

Nyx tried to find something more optimistic to say to Tess, but instead found herself staring at the table quietly, not knowing at all what to say. So Tess reached out slowly to put a hand on her arm. "Are you sure you're okay...? You've been... Out of sorts since we got back..."

"Tess..." Nyx mumbled. "...You know what happened in there..."

"I do..." Tess sighed. "And I'm never gonna forget it, either... Do you wanna talk about it?"

Nyx sighed and chewed at the inside of her lip. "What's there to talk about...?"

"I dunno... I just figured that maybe... Talking about it would help..." Tess almost mumbled, feeling somehow guilty about this whole thing.

Nyx hummed. "I don't really know what to say. You wouldn't understand if I tried explaining it to you... It's something you have to experience to understand..."

"Have you tried talking to Jak, then?" Tess suggested. "He'd know what you're going through..."

"Jak's not really. An emotions guy, if you haven't noticed. He's more ill-equipped than I am,"

"Yeah..." Tess agreed. "But he cares about you. Didn't you see the look on his face when he came to free us? He was so relieved to see you,"

Nyx was silent as she contemplated Tess' words. It was true, Jak had been rather relieved to see her when she'd emerged from that cell. And he'd been so pissed to learn what Errol had done to her... "I dunno... I don't wanna make things awkward by dumping all my problems onto him,"

"I don't think he'd mind... After all, maybe he needs someone to talk to, as well," replied Tess, shrugging slightly. 

Nyx let another sigh past her lips, and drummed her fingers silently on the table a few times. "Yeah, I guess... I dunno... I'm not even sure how I'd put it into words..."

"There's no harm in trying, now is there?" Tess asked. "Besides, he probably already knows the words you're looking for, even if he doesn't know the specific words, either,"

"Yeah... I guess maybe you're right, but... I dunno if he wants to talk about it, y'know? It was a traumatic two years of his life, and I think he has PTSD over it, if Daxter's stories about his nightmares are anything to go by..."

"All the more reason to talk about it," Tess replied. "Bottling up your emotions can't be any good for either of you. I think it would be good to talk about it. Even just a little bit,"

Nyx went quiet and hummed lowly. "You're completely right, but I just. I don't know if I'm ready to face it... To acknowledge what... What Errol's done to me..."

"But you've already acknowledged it, haven't you? You know that something's changed, that something's wrong... That's better than denying it ever happened,"

"But saying it out loud is harder than admitting to myself that it's changed me..." Nyx mumbled, tears starting to prick at her eyes. "I've always had a problem with admitting that I'm weak and broken..."

Tess' lips compressed into an unimpressed scowl. "You're not weak. Maybe broken, sure, after what he did to you, but you're not weak. You're still standing, aren't you? You haven't given up or lost yourself. You survived it, there's nothing weak about that,"

Nyx bit her lip, contemplating her next words carefully. "Yeah, but... I feel weak for needing reassurance about all this... I keep letting it break me over and over, and I'm no closer to controlling it..."

"It's barely been a week, Nyx. You're not gonna learn overnight. This has been a thing for Jak for months, and even he's still not sure how to handle it, is he?" Tess insisted. "And all things considered, I think you're both doing fine,"

Another sigh brushed past Nyx's lips, and she ran her hands back through her hair. "Yeah, I... I guess so..."

"So try talking to him, next chance you get. It might help," said Tess. 

Nyx nodded. "Okay. Alright, I'll give it a shot,"

Tess smiled wide. "That's the spirit! You'll never know if you don't try!"

Nyx snorted at Tess' sunshine-like personality. "Thanks, Tess. Guess I needed that metaphorical kick in the ass,"

"What are friends for, right?" questioned Tess. "I'm always here if you wanna talk,"

Nyx nodded. "Got it,"

Tess smiled again, and then stood up, clapping Nyx gently on the shoulder. "I should probably get back to the bar, now. But if you need me, you know how to reach me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Nyx confirmed. "Have fun working with that huge slime ball,"

Tess rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "I will!"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was her chance, Nyx thought. This was the perfect time to get Jak alone and try following through with Tess' advice. This was absolutely the right time to do it. She just had to... Convince herself to do it... Which was easier said than done. 

Tess was right, talking about it would probably help, but... Did she really want to go breaking herself down in front of Jak? Did he want to deal with that? Did he want to talk about it at all?

She was overthinking it, wasn't she? Yeah, she was definitely worrying about it way too much. And worrying about it was causing that crackling ball of energy in her chest to start sending little sparks through her veins. If she was going to get all worked up about it, she might as well actually do it, right?

The hideout was completely quiet, with Torn bent over his table as he worked on their next plans, and Jak and Daxter had just come back from destroying the blast bots that were threatening the hideout. Jak looked tired, but Nyx had solidified her resolve by now. 

"Hey, Jak...?" Nyx said, a little quieter than she intended to, as she approached the blond. 

Jak raised an eyebrow at Nyx as she approached. "Yeah?"

"Um... I was wondering if you would uh... Come take a walk with me? I kinda wanna... Talk..." Nyx requested nervously, wishing that she didn't sound so unsure of what she was asking. 

Jak stared at her for a moment; Studied her, actually. She wasn't normally this squirrely... "Yeah, sure,"

Nyx managed a small smile as she turned towards the door. "Thanks..."

Jak nodded to her, and then turned towards Daxter. "Dax? You'll be okay until I get back, right?"

Daxter raised his eyebrows, as if he was surprised that Jak wasn't taking him with. But he nodded anyways. "Yeah, don't worry 'bout me! I got this place on lock!"

With another small nodd, Jak crossed the room to meet Nyx at the door. She stopped before opening it, though, and turned to hail Torn. "Torn! Jak and I are going out, we'll be back,"

Torn had already heard Nyx's quiet request to the renegade, but he appreciated her telling him anyways. "Don't be too long,"

"We won't," Nyx assured him, and then lead Jak out of the safehouse, and out into the streets of the Northern Slums. The sun had already gone down, leaving the city dark and empty feeling. Most citizens were already in their homes, but a few stragglers could be seen walking about. 

They were both quiet for a few moments as they walked side by side, until Jak finally broke the silence. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," Nyx sighed. "I just uh. Don't know how to get started with it... See... I was talking with Tess, and she said that maybe... Talking to you would help..."

"Me? Why me?" Jak questioned, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't known for being a very emotionally available person, was he? So why was she coming to him? It wasn't that he didn't care, it was that he wasn't sure if he was the right person to be having a 'talk' with. It had never really been his thing.

Nyx bit her lip before responding, trying to find the right words for what she wanted to say. "Well, I... I know that you're not too good with words and all... But... Tess kinda figured that maybe it'd help if it were you... 'Cause y'know... You're the only other person who knows how it feels..."

Jak didn't have to guess about what 'it' was. They were the only two people in Haven (And potentially the world) who had survived those Dark Eco experiments. There was no doubt that's what she was talking about. With a sigh, Jak formulated the best reply he could think of. "And what exactly do you wanna talk about... When it comes to that...?"

"I dunno..." Nyx bit out, already starting to feel a bit too nervous. "Tess thought it would help, and maybe... Maybe I'm tired of just. Bottling it all up... Tess figured that maybe you'd be the same way..."

When Jak didn't immediately respond, Nyx was quick to rush out another sentence. "We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to... I just... Promised Tess I'd give it a try..."

Jak looked over at her then, studying the way she had her arms wrapped around herself like a blanket. He'd never seen her quite so vulnerable. She wasn't a steely warrior like Torn, but she'd never been the type to allow herself to seem weak. She'd always put on a tougher front, even if he could see through it. The fact that she was showing Jak these emotions was enough to keep him from shutting her out like the cold ball in his chest told him to. "Well, then... Where do we start...?"

Nyx glanced over at Jak, almost not believing that he was willing to talk about this. He wasn't looking at her of course, but he'd said it. Nyx sighed and bit her lip. "I'm not sure. It's really hard to find words for it..."

"Yeah, I know..." Jak mumbled, absently adjusting his scarf in a somewhat-nervous move.

"It's not like other kinds of Eco..." Nyx muttered to the ground. "The other kinds of Eco are just energy. Power that you can control and do things with. It gives you new abilities, but it's so easy to control..."

Jak sighed softly. "Dark Eco isn't like that, though..."

"No. It's not. It's still a form of power, but it's... Heavy. Glues itself to your insides and changes them. It's the only kind of Eco that tries to control you itself..." said Nyx, trying to speak loud enough for Jak to still hear her, even if she hated hearing herself say the words. "No other kind of Eco clouds my mind the way Dark does... It changes how I think... Makes it easier for me to lose control. Makes me more volatile... I know it does the same to you, it's not hard to see..."

"Yeah," Jak said, forcing out the strained words. He hated to admit it to himself, but she was indeed correct. Dark Eco would take control of him and turn him into a raging beast, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. There was a point of no return in which he could no longer shove the Eco back into his chest, and it would all come bursting forth, turning him into the 'Dark Eco Monster' that Haven feared...

Nyx sighed as she carefully chose her next words. "I feel like I'm fighting a war against myself, sometimes... It's a part of me, now, it's in my veins and I'm so aware of it... It makes me do things I normally wouldn't, it tries to drown me... And I..."

She paused there, her last words sounding broken and conflicted. Jak turned to look at her as she tried to force herself to say the next words that were on the tip of her tongue. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what...

"I feel like..." Nyx stopped again, biting her lip hard before finally choking out the words she was fighting with. "I feel like I'm losing myself... This isn't me..."

Jak quietly stared at her for a moment, before sighing and running a hand back through his hair. "I don't think you have... Or ever will..."

"How do you know?" Nyx demanded, looking over at Jak with something fierce in her eyes.

Jak floundered with words for a moment, before finally finding some that worked. "Well... You know that it's wrong, don't you? You know that the way you're acting isn't who you are, right? So... Have you really lost yourself, if it still feels wrong...?"

"But I can't... I can't stop it!" Nyx hissed. "It's wrong and awful and not me, but I can't stop it..."

Little bolts of Dark Eco were starting to spark from her skin as she spoke, and Jak could see it start darkening her eyes. He had to choose his next words carefully, then... "But you want to. It's trying to take you, but you won't let it. I've seen you slip up, and then reel yourself back in because you know it's not right. I can't do that. When I lose control, I _lose control_. You still have so much more of yourself than I do, trust me when I say that,"

"You think I don't know that?" Nyx almost snapped. "I didn't want to bring this up because I know that you will forever have it worse..."

"That's not the way I meant it..." Jak mumbled, tensely running a hand through his hair again. He was so not good with this words thing...

Nyx let out a loaded sigh, trying to reign herself back in. "Do I really have the right to complain about this...?"

"Of course you do... Dark Eco isn't something to be taken lightly..." Jak replied slowly. "Listen... Back in Sandover, there was this guy named Gol. He was studying Dark Eco; A Dark Eco Sage, if you will..."

Nyx looked over at Jak with tired, but curious eyes. "And...?"

"He did something wrong... Let it consume himself and his sister, Maia... They lost their minds and started trying to uncap a massive Dark Eco silo, which would have flooded the world with Dark Eco, and likely destroy it," Jak explained quietly. "All they cared about was Dark Eco and destruction. It wasn't wrong to them to let it control them and turn them into monsters. But we know that it is. And we won't let it take us, will we?"

Nyx gave a small whimper of confliction, and let her eyes fall back to the ground. "I... I guess so...?"

"Let me put it this way..." Jak offered. "If you're still fighting, then you haven't lost anything..."

Nyx chewed at her lip for a moment, and then glanced over at Jak. "...Are _you_ still fighting...?"

Jak didn't immediately answer, trying to figure that out himself. Then he nodded. "Yeah. I am,"

"So... We're not lost, yet, then...?" Nyx asked quietly, her voice almost breaking.

Jak shook his head. "No. Broken, maybe... But not lost... We still know who we are, don't we?"

"Yeah..." Nyx replied thickly. "I think so..."

"Good. Then keep fighting for that," said Jak. "Don't give him the satisfaction of destroying you,"

Nyx almost had to laugh. "That's a goal I think I can live with... Promise that you won't stop fighting, too...?"

"Promise," Jak confirmed, nodding slowly.

Nyx let out a quiet sigh, and then smiled. "We're gonna get through this... We have to... Right...?"

Jak looked over at her again, and then awkwardly reached out to pull her into a one-armed hug. "Definitely,"


	13. A Bad Judge Of Character

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx acompanies Jak to Keira's garage for the Class Two race, and they end up being confronted by none other than Errol. The KG Commander threatens them, trying to use Keira to get under Jak's skin. After he leaves, Keira defends Errol, which pisses off Jak and prompts him to abandon the race. Nyx is equally appalled, and just can't understand how anyone could like someone like Errol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really. Really hate the way Keira and her relationship with Jak was handled post-TPL. It was just done. Really badly. So I do intend to fix that. Of course, Jak/Nyx is the endgame for this fic, so that's another little change.

If she was being honest, Nyx didn't want to watch another race. The first one had been more than enough for her. But she wanted to cheer Jak on, so that was the only reason why she went with him to meet with Keira at her garage. Daxter also said that maybe watching a good race would help get her out of the weird 'funk' she'd been in ever since they'd rescued her from prison.

Nyx and Jak both knew the chances of that were slim, but Torn backed up Daxter's idea for once in his life, and all but kicked her out of the hideout, sending her with Jak and Daxter. Well, a day out of the hideout couldn't be too bad, right? Maybe once the race was over, she'd head to the baazar and say hi to Onin?

Daxter was blabbering on about embarassing things Jak had done when he was a kid as the trio approached Keira's garage. "But ya see, Jak didn't notice the wumpbee nest that was literally right on top of him. And so he-"

Daxter's story was cut short when Nyx and Jak practically walked into someone else who was in Keira's garage. Nyx hissed and leaped back when she saw who it was; Errol. What the hell was he doing in Keira's garage?! There was no way he was the KG guy Keira liked for his driving skills, was there?

Jak was just as unpleased to see Errol, but he didn't back away or even flinch. Instead, he held his ground. From his shoulder, Daxter glared daggers at the ginger man. He'd never met Errol before now, but there were pictures of him all over the hideout, so he easily recognized the tattooed face. And he really wanted to claw it off...

Errol smirked upon seeing who was before him, and stepped closer. "Well, if it isn't the dark eco freaks," he growled, getting in Jak's face as he spoke. 

Nyx stepped behind Jak as Errol moved, feeling the eco in her veins give a small spark. If she never saw Errol again, it would have been too soon...

"Where's Keira?" Jak demanded, not outwardly fazed by Errol's show of dominence. Inside was another story... Memories of that face and voice flashed through his mind, and brought with them memories of pain. Memories that he harshly shoved back. Now wasn't the time...

"Don't worry," Errol purred, beginning to walk in circles around Jak and Nyx, which made the latter rather nervous. "I'm keeping a close eye on her... You're the talk of the town, Jak. You give the people hope... How pathetic! I would have enjoyed killing you in prison, but now it will be so much more fun to take you on the track, in front of the entire city!"

Nyx glared at Errol as he spoke of killing Jak, and she almost wanted to lash out at him. But he scared her more than he pissed her off, so she remained silently hiding behind Jak. 

Daxter was having the same internal conflict, and if it weren't for the metal pauldron on Jak's shoulder, the blond would have little claw marks on his skin by now. Daxter was usually a man of many words, and was hard to shut up. But in the face of Jak's (and now Nyx's) tormentor, he had no idea what to say. This was mostly Jak's war, Daxter eventually decided. If he needed to step in, he would, but for now it seemed like Jak had it under control. He wasn't freaking out and transforming, at the least...

"I can hear the roar of the crowd now, as everyone sees their hope die," Errol continued, grinning sadistically. 

Jak was going to say something to Errol in response; Tell him off and promise that he'd be the one to die. But Keira's voice cut him off. 

"It's good to have you back, daddy," Keira was saying as she walked in with her father. 

"Yes," Samos agreed. "It's nice to be free again,"

Errol leaned close to Jak's ear, so that Keira couldn't hear what he said. "You know, Keira loves a winner. Someday, she'll be my mechanic,"

"Stay away from her!" Jak growled, turning to glare fiercely at Errol. There was no way he was letting that psychopath anywhere near Keira...

Errol laughed, and walked away, exiting the garage with a passing smile to Keira. Nyx and Jak watched him go, and exchanged glances with each other.

Keira sighed dreamily as she watched Errol go. "Errol's the best racer I've ever seen,"

"He's not what you think," Jak replied, almost not comprehending the fact that Keira liked that asshole.

Nyx stared at Keira, feeling somewhat betrayed. How could Keira even be friends with someone from the KG to begin with! She hated Praxis, that was why she helped the Underground. Did she somehow not know that Errol was at the top of the Baron's chain of command?

"And you're a good judge of character?" Keira retorted. "Ha! Look at you! People say you get angry and... Change... Besides, the Jak I knew wouldn't be working for a guy like Krew,"

"I need Krew's connections to fight the Baron," Jak argued. "Without my- Y'know what? Do it your way. And I'll do it mine. Just don't come crying to me when the walls fall down," and with that, Jak stormed out of the garage. 

"Uuuhh... Jak? Buddy? Where ya goin' there, pal?" Daxter asked, trying to get Jak's attention as he left. But Jak ignored him. "Jak? Jak?!"

Nyx stared at Keira in complete disbelief and anger. Keira noted the way she was being looked at. "What...?"

Nyx let out a strangled gasp as she tried to find the right words. "I... I can't. No. No, I'm done," she couldn't think of anything else to say that wouldn't be horribly rude, and thus followed Jak out of the garage, her veins feeling so hot that they felt frozen.

Daxter watched helplessly as she went. Great, Keira had somehow managed to piss both of them off. And he couldn't help but feel rather offended, too. Keira had just spit in Jak's wounds after all, and Nyx had every right to be pissed about it, too. 

Outside the garage, Nyx caught up to Jak as fast as she could. She didn't want to be alone right now, and she wasn't sure if Jak should be alone, either. "Jak!"

He turned to look at her slightly, his posture tense and angry. "If you're here to talk me down, I don't wanna hear it,"

"Well that's good, because I'm not here to do that. I'm just as pissed as you are..." Nyx replied, trying to keep her voice steady. "I can't believe she... Errol?! Of all people..."

"I can't believe it either... But she... She's naive. She doesn't know what Errol really is, he's fooling her. But she's also stubborn as hell. Gets it from her father..." Jak replied, the slightest hint of bitterness in his voice. 

Nyx sighed. "You've known her almost your whole life, right? And she just. Lets that go so easily? Believes whatever Errol tells her?"

"I don't know," Jak almost snapped. He was thankful that he wasn't pissed enough to transform, but the dark eco in his system was sparking like mad. He idly wondered how bad it was for Nyx...

Nyx was silent a moment and breathed a quiet sigh. "Are you okay?"

"...No," Jak replied, choosing to be honest. 

"I figured as much. Are you gonna be okay?" Nyx asked in response to that. 

Jak sighed and ran a hand back through his hair. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. ...What about you?"

"I'm... Well I'm not exactly okay right now, all things considered... But I'll be fine," replied Nyx. The cold burn of dark eco in her veins was settling down now that she'd removed herself from the situation, though it was still a bit uncomfortable. 

Jak nodded, but didn't say anything. He wasn't exactly sure where they were meant to be walking to, but they'd ended up near the stadium. 

"You realize that Keira's probably gonna have Daxter race in your stead, right?" Nyx asked. 

"Yeah..." Jak sighed, feeling a bit guilty about that. 

"We should go watch, at the least," Nyx suggested. "You're his best friend, after all,"

Jak nodded, even though he really didn't want anything to do with the damn race. "Yeah, we should,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The only reason Jak agreed to return to Keira's garage after the race was because of Daxter. He'd actually managed to win the race, and Jak would be lying through his teeth if he said he wasn't proud. 

"Did you ever doubt?!" Daxter was exclaiming as they walked in. "I backseat drive for Jak all the time! Hey! When do I get the winner's big kiss?"

"Maybe later," Tess cooed, having showed up at some point. Jak and Nyx rounded the corner just in time to see her petting Daxter's head. "If you're a good boy,"

That was when Daxter noticed his friends, and awkwardly waved to them. "Hey there. We showed those class two losers a thing or two, huh?" he asked, leaping off the counter top to stand before Jak. 

"I saw. You drifted a little high in the turns a few times, but you hung in there," Jak said, kneeling down to bump fists with Daxter. "I'm proud of you, Dax,"

"Really?" Daxter asked, sounding so touched by the sentiment. 

"Yeah," Jak replied. "You did great,"

"No," Daxter corrected him, leaping back up onto Jak's shoulder as he stood up. "We did great! Right, partner?" 

Nyx couldn't help but smile at Jak and Daxter. They were literally made for each other, it seemed. The mood shifted again, though, as Jak and Keira made eye contact. Jak turned around without a word, and gently grabbed Nyx's arm as he went, muttering a quiet "C'mon," to her. 

"You still all pissed about that?" Daxter asked as soon as Keira was out of earshot. "'Cause I kinda am,"

"Yeah," Jak sighed. "That's not something I'm gonna easily get over,"

Daxter reached over to pat Jak's head. "I know, buddy. But Keira's our friend, it won't be long before she realizes what a douche Errol is and leaves him in the dust. Especially once we win that class one race!"

Jak snorted a bit. "Yeah. He did say she loves a winner, didn't he?"

"Uh-huh. So I think it's our job now to make Errol a great big loser!" Daxter exclaimed excitedly. "I'd pay good money to see the look on his face when he loses big time!"

Nyx laughed. "Yeah, I'd pay to see that, too. Actually, I'd pay to see anything involving Errol being taken down a notch, come to think of it,"

"Well I think showin' him up in that race is the best way to do it! Break his huge ego into a thousand tiny pieces!" Daxter continued, really getting into this idea. 

"I might break more than his ego, but yeah, that sounds good," Jak replied, nodding slowly. 

"I won't blame you if you run him off the track or something," said Nyx. "He deserves it,"

Jak actually laughed a bit, though it was a hollow sound. "I'll keep that in mind,"


	14. 3AM Thunderstorms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx wakes up in the middle of the night, due to a thunderstorm. Jak begins to have a nightmare not long after, and transforms the moment he wakes up. In the face of a monster, Nyx doesn't shy away, and instead chooses to talk him down. After all, she now understands the forces that cause such changes in Jak... And she knew that he had to still be in there somewhere, right?

Thunderstorms had never bothered Nyx when she was little, but for some reason they bothered her now. She wasn't sure about the logic behind that, but the bright flashes of lightning and loud claps of thunder unnerved her. They felt somehow threatening, like explosions or gunfire. 

The storm had woken her up in the middle of the night, leaving her alone in the dark and otherwise quiet hideout. Torn wasn't there for some reason, and that only served to make Nyx more unnerved. If Torn had been there to tell her it was okay, maybe she could've gone back to sleep. Or at least had a conversation with him to keep her mind off things.

It was technically a lie to say that she was alone, though; Jak and Daxter were there, curled up together on another bunk. But Nyx wasn't going to wake them up. She'd tried waking Jak once before; He'd nearly broken her wrist when he woke up in fighting mode and grabbed it. That was her lesson in why you don't wake up the guy who was tortured for two years. 

So Nyx found herself sitting in bed, trying to ignore the storm outside. It wasn't really working, though. The anxiety that had settled in her chest was making the dark eco in her begin to spark, and that wasn't helping her stay calm at all. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to that...

Eventually, Nyx sighed and climbed out of bed, deciding to walk over to Torn's table and see what he'd been working on. Maybe it would tell her where he was? She scanned her eyes over the blueprints, shipping manifests and other papers that were there, but none of it told her where Torn might have gone off to in the middle of a thunderstorm and the middle of the night. 

Nyx took a seat at the table and proceeded to just stare at it. What else was she meant to do? She couldn't go back to sleep with the thunderstorm going on, and there wasn't really any work that needed to be done. Another eco shipment was due in tomarrow, but that was tomarrow. That couldn't help her right now. 

So, not quite sure what to do with herself, Nyx just stared at the various papers on Torn's desk for a while, listening to the storm and hoping that it would stop soon. If it weren't so dark, she could've tried drawing something, but the dim lamp in the room barely lit up all the papers Torn had strewn about. So Nyx supposed that she'd just sit there until it was over.

An undetermined amount of time later, however, a low groan from behind her caught her attention. She turned around to look towards the only other person in the room, and found that he was not sleeping peacefully. One hand was fisted in his shirt, and his eyes were screwed shut. He was squirming in a fitful manner now, and groaning in what was definitely pain. Nyx wasn't an expert, but it looked like he was having a nightmare.

Nyx stood up at the same time that Daxter began to stir. "Jak?" the ottsel mumbled, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, he immediately scampered up to Jak's face. "Jak, buddy? Hey, wake up! It's just a nightmare, ya gotta wake up!"

With slow steps, Nyx approached the two. "Is he okay?" it was probably a dumb thing to ask, but what else could she say?"

"Another nightmare," Daxter mumbled. "Been happenin' a lot, lately,"

Nyx stared as Jak clearly fought with something that wasn't exactly real. Well, it was to some degree. Since being rescued from prison, she'd had a few bad dreams herself; Always about dark eco. Always. And they never failed to cause whatever eco she had in her system to flare up with it's cold, angry sparks. But it had never done more than make her awaken feeling unnerved and a bit scared. It was mild enough that she could pretend it never even happened. Jak had so much more dark eco in his body, and she couldn't imagine how painful it must be for him.

"Jak? C'mon, man, you gotta snap outta it! Jak, pal- Woah!" Daxter's protest was cut off by Jak suddenly jerking upright, with dark eco crackling around him. Daxter fell off the bed with a yelp, and Jak leaped out of it, on the defensive and ready to attack. 

He'd gone dark, Nyx realized as her eyes met solid black ones. The nightmare had been so bad that he'd transformed the moment he woke up. Or maybe the transformation was what caused him to wake up? She supposed it didn't matter.

Daxter recovered quickly from his short fall, and rushed over to leap onto Jak's shoulder. He and Nyx appeared to be having a staring contest of sorts, and Daxter wasn't sure of what Jak was going to do. "Jak! Jak, it was just a nightmare! We're in the hideout, there's nothin' to hurt us here!"

Nyx realized then that she probably should have been scared of Jak. Should have wanted to run. But she'd seen this before. Seen Jak like this. And he'd done it to protect her. She'd turned her back on him and he hadn't made a move. She trusted that he wouldn't do so now. 

Feeling confident that Jak wouldn't hurt her, Nyx started to step towards him. "Jak, listen to Dax. It was just a dream. Whatever it was about is over, now. You're okay,"

Jak made a sound in the back of his throat; It was a growl, but it was also a confused sound. His posture wasn't exactly threatening yet, as he hadn't found a viable threat in the room, but he was looking for one. Trying to find a reason to fight, because his body so badly wanted to. 

Nyx slowly closed the gap between herself and Jak, even as Daxter tried to ward her off with frantic hand flaps. She trusted Jak, moreso than she probably should have. She came to a stop in front of him, and carefully reached up to cup his face with one hand. "C'mon, Jak, it's okay. Come back to us,"

Jak stared at her for a moment, seeming frozen. And then the color started returning to his body, and he stepped back with a groan. His head dropped into his hands and then stayed there. 

"Hey, there we go. Back to normal," Daxter said with a sigh of relief. "See, Jak? It's all cool,"

Jak groaned again and then dared to look up at Nyx. She was staring at him with a confused and concerned look, and that only made him feel worse. Why wasn't she scared? 

"You okay now?" Nyx asked, her voice soft and almost inaudible.

Jak nodded weakly. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," Nyx said, looking rather confused still. "It's not your fault,"

Jak shook his head now, perplexed and a little aggrovated. "Why aren't you scared?"

Nyx stared at Jak for a moment, unsure how to respond at first. "...While the killing and the blood is rather unnerving, and the brute strength you posses is rather terrifying... I'm not scared of you, Jak. You, the person who makes all the choices,"

"But why?" Jak demanded. "I'm the one who chooses to do the killing. It's not something seperate from me! It's still me..."

"I know. That's why I'm not scared. You'd wouldn't hurt me. The first time I saw you like that, it happened because I got shot, remember? You did it to protect me. I think it would take a lot more than a nightmare to make you turn on me," Nyx explained quietly. 

Jak didn't get it. He didn't get why she placed so much trust in him. Did she really like him that much? It didn't make any sense, they barely knew each other! But even Jak couldn't deny that she was right. He hadn't for a moment thought about attacking her. He'd been looking for things to protect her from. And he had no idea why he was so fond of her. But he was, and it was giving him a headache. 

"Jak, pal? You forget how to speak again?" Daxter asked, prodding Jak's head. "I think a statement like that deserves a reply,"

"I know, I know. I just don't know what to say..." Jak mumbled. "I don't understand why you put so much trust in me... Why you like me so much,"

Nyx sighed quietly. "I'll be honest with you, Jak... I'm not too sure why I like you so much, either. But I do, and I'm not gonna question it. And I'm also not gonna question why you seem to trust me so much. Because something tells me that not everyone can walk up to 'Tall, Dark and Gruesome' and talk him down,"

"She's right, y'know. I'm the only other person who can do that," Daxter said matter-of-factly.

Jak sighed, shook his head, and almost laughed. He had no idea what he'd gotten himself into with this girl, but it was. Nice. She wasn't judging him the way he felt others did. She accepted every part of him, and that was something only Daxter did until now. 

"C'mon, why don't we sit down? You look like hell," Nyx said, reaching out to grab Jak's hand and pull him towards the table. He let her, and sat down at the chair she lead him to. "Want coffee?" she asked afterwards.

"What time is it?" Jak asked in response.

Nyx glanced towards the huge clock on the wall. "Three-fortyfive,"

Jak chuckled a bit. He'd gotten up at worse hours. "Yeah, sure. Coffee sounds great,"

Nyx smiled and headed back into the room they called their kitchen, turning on another light as she went. She came back moments later with three cups of coffee. She handed off two to Jak and Daxter, and set her own down on the table. She returned to the kitchen, and returned this time with a jug of milk and a bottle of chocolate syrup. She proceeded to pour great ammounts of both into her cup. 

"Got enough sugar and caffeine there?" Jak asked, eyeing her over the rim of his cup. 

Nyx shrugged. "I can't stand coffee any other way. I usually get frappuccinos from the coffee shop by the baazar, but this is a good enough substitute,"

"Frappuccinos? Ain't that a hipster drink?" questioned Daxter, dragging the jug of milk over to himself. 

Nyx laughed as she sipped from her overly-chocolatey drink. "I don't believe in stereotypes, Dax,"

"Uh huh," Daxter hummed as he tried to pour milk into his cup. But the jug was too heavy and large for him to actually pick up. He resorted to pathetically looking up at Jak. "Jak, help,"

Jak snorted and picked up the jug to pour some of the milk into Daxter's cup. "You should invest in ottsel-sized milk jugs, apparently,"

"I'll let Torn know," Nyx replied, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, speaking of the Tattooed Wonder, where is he?" Daxter asked, now pleased that he had his coffee the way he liked it. 

"I... Have no idea..." Nyx responded, sounding concerned. "I woke up 'cause of the damn thunderstorm, and he wasn't here. I have literally no idea what he might be off doing,"

"I'm sure he's fine," Jak said. "He can handle himself,"

Nyx nodded. "I know. Just after everything that's happened, I can't help but be worried, y'know? It's a war out there..."

Jak sighed, knowing this all too well. "Yeah, it is... Do you plan on waiting up for him?"

Nyx shrugged, sipping from her cup. "I dunno, maybe? No way I'm going back to sleep with the sky releasing hell on top of us, so I guess I am,"

"Don't like rain?" Jak asked. 

"Don't like thunderstorms. It's too loud for me," Nyx replied. "I never used to have a problem with it, but then everything went to shit... Now I can't stand loud noises in general,"

Jak hummed. "I know the feeling. Want me to uh... Stay up with you?"

Nyx glanced at Jak to see that he wasn't looking at her. Instead he was very intently staring at his coffee. "I mean, you don't have to. But I won't stop you,"

Jak really hoped that Nyx hadn't noticed the way his face had decided to heat up and undoubtedly turn a slight shade of red... He had no idea why it was happening, and he hoped it would stop soon. He shrugged casually before responding. "I probably won't be able to get back to sleep, anyways. Usually can't,"

"Well, I dunno what we're gonna do, then. There isn't too much leisure stuff to do around here," Nyx said. "Oh wait, I think we have a deck of cards somewhere!" and then Nyx was off to find the deck of cards. Jak watched idly as she scampered around the hideout, trying to remember where she'd left them. 

Eventually, she found them in a crate, and flopped them onto the table. "You know how to play any card games?" she asked as she sat back down.

Jak shook his head. "Nope. Never played any,"

Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well then, I'll teach you. Wanna play, Dax?"

"Yeah, sure. Ten orbs says I beat both of ya," Daxter replied, grinning wide.

"Cocky, aren't we? Alright, I'll show you how to play a game called 'Go Fish'," Nyx said, and then began dealing out the cards and listing the rules.

Time passed rather quickly as Nyx taught the Demolition Duo how to play cards, and before they knew it, a very wet Torn was walking back into the hideout. At the time, Daxter was in the middle of throwing a hissy fit over losing, and was being quite dramatic. Upon seeing Torn enter however, he stopped.

"Oh, please, don't stop on my account," Torn said with deadpan sarcasm as he shed the outer layers of his soaking wet clothes. 

"Wow Torn, was that a joke? Or at least a sarcastic comment?" Nyx asked, leaning over the edge of her chair to grin at him.

Torn gave her a look, but then snorted a bit. "Don't get used to it,"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," Nyx drawled. "So where've you been?"

"Meeting with Ashelin," Torn replied. "The patrols have changed a lot since our... Escapade into the prison,"

"Yeah, I noticed," Jak said. "Ashelin give you the new schedule?"

Torn nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately, she has no idea what he's done with the Precursor stone, or the kid,"

Nyx sighed. "Damn. That poor little kid... He must be so scared..."

"We'll find him eventually," Torn said. "If we can break into the prison, we can find one kid,"

"I sure hope you're right," Nyx sighed. "He's just so young... He doesn't deserve any of this,"

"Yeah, I know," Torn replied solemnly. Then he sighed and changed the subject. "So why are you all up at ungodly hours?"

Daxter raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Hey wait, is the Tattooed Wonder trying to make small talk? Wow, that's new!"

Torn glared at Daxter as Nyx laughed and replied. "I can't sleep during thunderstorms, you know that. Guess Jak can't, either. So we resorted to playing Go Fish,"

Torn snorted. "Who won?"

"I did," Nyx replied with a grin. 

"Yeah, and I swear you cheated!" Daxter complained, waving a hand at Nyx.

Nyx laughed again. "You wanna go again? I'll even let you shuffle and deal this time,"

"Yeah! Yeah, I totally want a rematch!" Daxter exclaimed. "But uh. Jak should probably shuffle. Small paws, y'know,"

Nyx handed off the deck of cards to Jak, and then looked over at Torn. "Hey, Torn? You wanna join? It'll be like old times, when we were kids,"

Torn looked over at the trio of teenagers, sighed, and then took a seat. "Yeah, sure,"


	15. Not How It Used To Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daxter prompts Nyx to start talking about what Torn was like before Praxis and the KG happened to them. Nyx finds that talking about the way things used to be is both thereputic and emotionally sobering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has headcanons about Torn's family and such, bc someone's gotta give this man a life. Also, I feel I should mention that Nyx's parents aren't necessarily based on my own. Some bits and pieces are (Like her father's name; Clark), but they're mostly characters meant to simply fill a role for plot purposes.

Nyx was kicked back with her feet up on Torn's table, reading through a stack of papers he'd left for her. Jak and Daxter were across the table, with Jak taking apart and cleaning out the mechanisms of his morph gun. Nyx idly wondered who taught him how to do that. Even she didn't know how to, yet. Torn hadn't gotten around to teaching her.

"Sooooo," Daxter suddenly drawled, bored out of his mind with his friends buried in their work.

Nyx peered over her papers to look at Daxter. "A needle pulling thread,"

Daxter gave her a strange look, but chose to disregard whatever weird thing she'd just said. It wasn't worth knowing, because right now he had a question he'd kinda been wanting to ask for a while. And he figured they were close enough now, after everything that had happened, right? "So uh. You and Torn? You're not biologically related, right?"

"Nope. We let people believe we are though, because we can get away with it. He's legally my adopted brother, though," Nyx replied, shrugging.

Jak continued to work with his gun, but was now listening in on Nyx and Daxter's conversation. Daxter cocked an eyebrow at this new information. "Soo somethin' happened to his parents, then?"

Nyx removed her feet from the table to move her chair up and properly sit at the table, setting her papers down, her expression a bit somber. "Yeah... I was seven, Torn was seventeen. I think I already mentioned that his parents were KG, like my dad. Y'know that attack on Dead Town that Torn mentioned? His parents died in that,"

Daxter hissed through his teeth. "Ooh... Sorry I asked..."

"It's okay..." Nyx sighed, trying to smile. "Torn might mind, but he doesn't have to know. He'd probably cut off your tail if you tried asking him, though... Bit of a sore subject, y'know?"

"Yeeeeaaaaahhhh..." Daxter drawled, and then sighed. "Soo after his parents died, your dad adopted him?"

Nyx nodded. "He felt he had to. Torn's parents were like family to us, and we were all he had without them. Torn and I were like siblings from day one anyways, we almost didn't need the legal papers. But he wasn't quite eighteen yet, so we had to,"

"Huh. And uh. What about... Your mom? I know ya said ya dunno where she is but like. She alive? Did she leave ya?" Daxter asked.

"Dax, don't pry," Jak warned him firmly, tapping the ottsels arm with some small gun piece.

"No, no, it's okay. It's. Kinda nice to talk about this stuff... I hate bringing it up with Torn sometimes. Always puts him in this... Mood..." Nyx replied, staring at the table instead of at Daxter. "But uh... My mom disappeared when I was five. She just. Vanished. We expected to find a body or get a ransom message, but that never happened. The KG weren't too interested in trying to find her, either..."

"Wow, they wouldn't even find the wife of one of their own? And your dad stayed with them?" Daxter asked incredulously.

Nyx hummed sadly. "The KG is... A life commitment. Torn's the only guy who's ever managed to leave them and stay alive. Those tattoos mean you belong to Praxis, no ifs ands or buts about it. My dad couldn't leave... And sadly he couldn't keep Torn from joining the next year..."

"You wish he hadn't?" Jak asked, looking at her without tilting his head up, barely having her in his peripheral.

Nyx sighed. "Yeah. I do. Because he's not the same anymore... He's not the Torn I used to know when I was a kid. And I know that everybody's gotta grow up and stuff, no one can stay a kid forever... But he's changed in more ways than just growing up..."

Daxter stared at her for a moment, feeling a bit sorry for bringing this all up. "I know the feelin'... But ya still love him anyways, right?"

"Of course I do. He's still my brother... Still the guy who scared off bullies and bought me ice cream when I was a kid. He's still there, underneath all the bullshit Praxis has put him through. I think I'm the only one who sees it, though..." Nyx said, laughing ever so slightly. She was getting an interesting feeling of deja-vu. Hadn't she and Daxter had a conversation like this before, except it was Daxter talking about Jak?

Jak hadn't consciously realized it, but he'd stopped working on his gun, listening to Nyx talk. Torn had always been something of a mystery to them, and that made it easy to dislike him some. But now Jak sort of felt sorry for him... Praxis had really fucked him over, too...

"Well, you're the only one who knew him before, you're probably the only one he'll let see it," Daxter replied. "...Wanna tell us what he was like before?"

Nyx sighed, and then laughed softly. "I guess it's only fair I tell you about Torn. You told me about Jak..."

At this, Jak gave Daxter a look. The ottsel just shrugged. "What? It just kinda came out while ya were showerin'. I didn't say nothin' bad, I just talked about Sandover!"

Jak shook his head and leaned back to look at Nyx. "Go on..."

"He was..." Nyx began, unsure of how to describe Torn before the KG got ahold of him. "He was sweet. Most kids hate their little siblings that adore them and follow them around all the time. And we weren't even related, but Torn never minded if I followed him everywhere. He was always so nice to me. Since he was bigger, he protected me from bullies when he came to get me from school once he was old enough for that kinda thing,"

"He's always been kind of a serious guy, growing up around KG parents and all. But he still knew how to have fun. We loved goofing off and just being kids and stuff. Even into his first few years as a KG, he'd come home and we'd play video games well into the night and we'd laugh our asses off..." Nyx continued, shifting papers around to avoid looking anyone in the eye. Talking about this was... Good, but it was also putting her in one of those 'moods' she'd previously mentioned. Torn wasn't the only one affected by those. Nyx sighed, and her next words were quiet. "I'd give anything to go back..."

"Me, too," Daxter said, crossing the table to grab one of Nyx's fingers with his small hands. "But he still loves ya, y'know? I think that counts for everthin',"

Nyx laughed a bit, trying to hide the fact that tears were threatening to fall. "Yeah, I know. It's just. Hard watching someone you love be beaten and broken down into someone so much less than they used to be, and... You know the feeling, Daxter..."

Daxter nodded. "I do. But if there's any one thing I know 'bout all that, it's that ya gotta stand by him. Gotta show him that ya won't let him go down easy, if at all,"

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything different..." Nyx replied, reaching up to scratch Daxter's ear.

By now, Jak had realized that he and Torn weren't all that different, were they? And Nyx and Daxter clearly shared some of the same pain. He'd never thought about it before, how Daxter must feel having his best friend turned into someone broken and awful. Daxter would never have directly mentioned it to him, Jak knew that. But it was clear that he shared Nyx's feelings, and now Jak felt a bit guilty about it. Not to mention sorry for Nyx...

"Then you're doin' great," Daxter replied, leaning into her hand.

Nyx sighed and pat the ottsel's head. "So are you,"

"Why do I feel like this conversation isn't solely about you and Torn...?" Jak asked, raising his eyebrows at the two across the table.

Nyx laughed a bit. "Because it's not. You and Torn are a lot alike, you know?"

Jak sighed. "And I've just realized that so are you and Dax..."

"I guess we are," answered Nyx. "Except I'd probably knock Torn over if I tried sitting on his shoulder,"

Daxter chuckled. "I'd pay ya to try if I had anything to give ya,"

Nyx laughed, and even Jak had to snicker. "He used to give me piggy back rides, I'm pretty sure he still could. Does that count?"

"Not unless you're mostly draped over his shoulder," Daxter replied.

Nyx hummed. "Maybe I'll try that. Might get a laugh out of him,"

Daxter snickered and grinned. "Film it for us,"


	16. Setting Things Straight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx chooses to take a delivery mission to Keira's place, with the intention of setting things straight with the young mechanic. She ends up confronted by Errol again, and can't stop herself from engaging him. After Keira buys Errol's lie as to why they were fighting, Nyx slightly loses her cool, and lets Keira know just what kind of a person Errol is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It really bothered me how things between Jak and Keira were never properly addressed. No one explained to her what Errol did to Jak, all we got was that crappy 'You know Jak, you're the best racer I've ever seen' line from Keira, and that doesn't cut it for me. They're not the ship in this fic, but I still wanna fix what ND messed up so they can logically be friends again.
> 
> That is what this chapter is for. Just. Explaining things to Keira.

There was only one reason why Nyx accepted the delivery job to Keira's place; She wanted to talk to the mechanic girl. After what had happened last time, she felt like someone needed to clear things up with Keira. She needed to know that Errol wasn't who she thought he was. Daxter clearly hadn't explained, and Nyx got the feeling that Jak wouldn't dare talk about it. So it seemed like she had to be the one to do this, for Jak. 

She wasn't going to stop too long to think about why she wanted to do this for Jak, that was a rabbit hole she wasn't ready to go down. Down it laid a reveletion she couldn't yet comprehend.

"Keira!" Nyx called as she entered the garage. "Got a delivery for you!"

With Keira nowhere in sight, Nyx set down the crate of supplies onto one of Keira's tables, and then froze at the sound of boots stepping behind her. Nyx spun around to face whoever it was, knowing that those footfalls were too heavy to be Keira's.

"Oh, look. The other dark eco freak came back for more," the redhead before her sneered, staring down at her with that familiar smirk. 

Nyx's whole chest seized up as she laid eyes on Errol. What were the goddamn chances of meeting him here twice? How often did he visit Keira? Nyx tried to take a step back, but the table prevented her from going anywhere. Jak wasn't here to help her, this time, either. She had to say something...

"Don't call me that," she forced out, trying to growl at Errol and show the same kind of strength that Jak had. But she knew he could see how terrified she was of him. And she hated it. 

"I'm just calling them like I see them," Errol said with a shrug. "You're rather pathetic to be placing all your trust in Jak, you know,"

"No I'm not," Nyx hissed. "Jak's a better person than you'll ever be!"

Errol chuckled softly. "Last I heard, I'm not the one who turns into a bloodthirsty beast..."

Nyx clenched her teeth and felt the force of dark eco spark to life inside her, beginning to cloud her judgement and dull her fear. She couldn't just stand here and let this bastard insult Jak like that! "You don't even know anything about what you've created, do you? You don't know a damn thing about Jak!"

"I've seen the carnage he's created," Errol replied matter-of-factly. "It reminded me of a Metal Head attack..."

Nyx felt her hands start shaking as her fight or flight response began swinging towards 'fight'. That was what the dark eco did, it gave her more will to fight. But it made it harder to properly choose her battles. She narrowed her eyes and stared Errol down, trying to hide the way her fingers trembled with both fear and anger. "Jak only attacks when he feels he needs to! He doesn't enjoy causing suffering the way you do! You think you're so great and that you know everything but you're not and you don't!" 

Errol gave a short laugh, as if he actually found that funny. He was silent a moment as he gazed at her with those cruel eyes of his. Then, "I'm going to kill him, you know,"

"You can fucking try," Nyx hissed lowly. 

"I'll try, and I'll succeed. And then will come the mouthpiece of your little operation... He used to be a Commander, didn't he? What was his name? Torn, right? How would you feel if I made you watch as I ended his pathetic life?" Errol purred, slinking ever closer to Nyx's face. 

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Nyx wasn't thinking as she swung at Errol's face as hard as she could. But it felt good when her fist connected, and Errol staggered back. 

Bringing a hand up to the point of impact, Errol glared at her. "Why you little..."

And then Nyx lunged, knocking both of them to the ground. She swung again at Errol's face, and then again. Errol caught the next swing, and then plowed his own fist into Nyx's cheek. 

She hit the floor hard with an undignified cry. Her vision swam and her blood felt cold. She looked back up in time to see Errol's boot coming at her. It harshly made contact with her side a few times, and then his hand came down to fist itself in her hair, dragging her face up to stare at him. 

"You truly are pathetic," he sneered. "You should have stayed with me longer, maybe you'd have learned to fight back like Jak did. You'd be more fun,"

Nyx grimaced, and then jerked her arm forward to rake her nails across Errol's cheek. It made him drop her and stagger back again. In this moment, she pulled herself back up to properly face him. 

That was when he unholstered his gun. Nyx stared as he raised the weapon, not sure what she was meant to do in response to that. The dark eco haze finally broke, and proper fear resurfaced again. It occurred to her that perhaps this was it; Errol would shoot her and it would be over. 

But that moment was when Keira finally walked back into her garage. She stopped dead upon seeing Errol and Nyx, both injured and with the former pointing a gun at the latter. Then she became angry. 

"Errol! Nyx! What's going on here?!" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Errol was quick to holster his gun and give Keira a sweet smile. "Nothing, Keira. Just a... Misunderstanding,"

Keira narrowed her eyes a bit. "A misunderstanding...?"

"Yes, yes. I didn't recognize your friend here, and thought she was an intruder. I was just trying to keep you from being robbed," Errol answered, coming up with a lie so easily it had to have been practiced. 

Keira visably loosened up upon hearing it, too. She wholeheartedly believed it. "Aw, thanks Errol. You're the best,"

"Of course I am. Now, I'm running a little late, so we'll have to chat later," Errol replied, and then turned to Nyx. "I truly am sorry for the misunderstanding,"

And then, having just practically spit in Nyx's face, Errol took his leave. Nyx was left standing in Keira's garage, shaking, pissed off, scared, and not knowing what to do with herself. There was still dark eco crackling under her skin and it hurt. She'd let too much of it build up. Jak had warned her to not let that happen... Jak had also told her to not go to Dead Town for that drop, as there was a lot of dark eco out there. She wished she'd listened...

"I'm sorry about Errol, he was just trying to protect me," Keira said as she approached Nyx. "Are you okay?"

Nyx was silent for a moment, opening and closing her mouth as she sucked in gasps of air, trying to calm herself. But the fact that Keira still remained oblivious was enough to keep her in some form of fight mode. She looked up at Keira with a hurt and confused look. "You have no idea what he is, do you?"

"What?" Keira asked, now confused as well.

"Errol!" Nyx hissed forcefully. "Do you still believe that he's a good guy, Keira?"

Keira paused to stare at Nyx, having never known her to be confrontational like this. But Keira was stubborn, and never took an argument sitting down. "And you think you know him better than I do?"

"I do!" Nyx insisted, nearly spitting her words. "I've seen what he really is! He told you about Jak, didn't he? How Jak 'gets angry and changes'. But he didn't tell you that he's the one who did that to Jak! He's the Baron's right-hand man, and he executed all the dark eco experiments!. He's the one responsible for Jak being different from the wide-eyed hero Daxter said he used to be,"

Keira looked taken back by this new information, and she didn't know what to say. Didn't want to believe it. "No, no... Errol isn't... Like that..."

"He's lying to your face, Keira!" replied Nyx, sounding exasperated and annoyed. She wanted to be done with this, but there were still things to be said, and the cold burn of eco still lingered in her veins and her head. "He's using you, just like he used me and Jak! I dunno if you heard, but a lot of Underground members got arrested a few weeks ago. I was one of them. I got the same treatment as Jak while I was there. And Errol was the one to carry it out. He merilessly injected me with dark eco and then told me that the Baron ordered my father to be killed so that they could use me like that!"

Keira gave a breathless gasp of disbelief and betrayal, as well as many other unpleasant emotions. "He... He saved me... When we first arrived in Haven..."

"Even bad guys do good things if it'll get them what they want," said Nyx flatly, almost spitting it. It was a sad truth of life. 

Keira found herself staring at the floor, unable to find words. Eventually, she looked back up. "Is Jak mad at me?"

"Yeah. You blamed him for changing as a result of the torture he went through. He's not gonna get over that very easily," Nyx replied, trying to reign herself in now and sound less angry. 

Keira sighed. "Will you tell him I'm sorry? I had no idea that was what really happened..."

"I'll tell him, but you've gotta show him," answered Nyx. "He won't believe you unless you actively make ammends,"

Keira nodded. "I. I'll try to,"

"You better try pretty hard," said Nyx, and then walked past Keira to make for the door. She'd exhausted most of her dark eco reserves by now, and that was a huge relief. But it left her tired and bitter and just wanting to go.

"Wait!" Keira exclaimed as Nyx crossed the threshold, making the older girl stop and turn back. "Does Jak really... Change?"

Nyx hesitated a moment. "Yeah, he does. But it's nothing like what Errol probably told you," and without another word, she left Keira's garage, leaving the mechanic feeling betrayed and guilty.

Nyx's hands were starting to shake again as she climbed back into her zoomer and started it up. Now that the dark eco was gone, she was rather shaken up from her argument with Keira, and especially her fight with Errol. She was aware of what was likely a bruise forming around her right eye, and it throbbed dully. Torn and Jak were gonna want an explanation for that...

She drove slower than usual on her way back, even though she wanted to just hurry up and get to the hideout and try to find something else to focus on. Maybe Daxter would be there, and she could listen to him talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. The small ottsel was pretty good at that. 

When she finally pulled up to the hideout and climbed out of her zoomer, she had to take a breath and try to not look as spooked as she felt. She had to be stronger than this. And next time, she promised herself she wouldn't lose it like that...

The doors to the hideout slid open to reveal that Torn and Jak were sitting together at the table, both talking about something. Somewhere in the back of Nyx's mind, she thought about how it was good that they were getting along finally.

She'd barely made it past the bunk beds, when Torn noticed the bruise that was forming under her eye. "What in the name of Mar happened to you? Did you get caught?"

Nyx shook her head and sighed. "Technically, no..."

"Technically? Nyx, come on, don't dance around it, what happened?" Torn demanded.

Jak and Daxter had both turned to look at Nyx with confused and concerned looks, and everyone present could see what a mess she was. Something had definitely happened...

Nyx sighed again and ran her hands back through her hair, tugging on it to try and calm herself. "I ran into Errol at Keira's garage again..."

The move to pull at her hair was a familiar one, Jak did it all the time, even if he didn't notice it. But Daxter did, and even Jak could tell that it was a move of flustration done in an attempt to stay calm. Her eyes refused to settle on any one thing, but he could see the tired and drained look in them.

Now knowing that Errol had been involved, Jak had a good idea what had happened. Even if she hadn't been through enough to make her transform like he did, Jak didn't doubt that it wasn't enough to make her turn violent if pushed enough. And if anyone was good at pushing, it was Errol. 

"Shit, are you okay?" Torn demanded, making his way around the table to approach Nyx. Jak wanted to tell him to maybe give her some space, but then remembered that they'd known each other since they were kids. Surely she'd be okay with him being near, right?

Nyx didn't flinch as Torn reached up to cup the bruised side of her face, but she did refuse to look him in the eye. "I'm fine,"

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe that," said Torn, leading Nyx back to the table and sitting her next to Jak. 

Nyx sighed. "Really, Torn. I'm okay... It's my fault, I started it..." 

Torn raised an eyebrow. "I've never known you to start fights,"

"Me neither. But Errol. Really pissed me off... And I guess that's a little easier to do these days..." Nyx mumbled. 

Jak was careful as he reached over to grab Nyx's arm. He didn't know what to say, but he wanted to her know that he understood and that he was there for her. He wasn't sure why he was so emotionally invested in her, but now wasn't the time to question it. 

Nyx hesitated a moment before placing her other hand over Jak's, holding it there. She knew he could probably feel her shivering, but she didn't care. It was Jak, he knew why.

Torn sighed. He didn't exactly understand what the dark eco was doing to her, but he knew that it wasn't pleasant. And he so badly wished he could help. He wouldn't say it to her, either, but he still blamed himself for it. "He's going to pay for all of this, I promise,"

"I know," Nyx replied, nodding slowly. "We're gonna make sure of that,"

The room lapsed into a short bout of silence then, as Nyx stared blankly at the table, looking tired and haunted. Daxter eventually dismounted Jak's shoulder to scamper up to her, trying to get her to look at him. "Ya sure you're okay? You're doin' that spacin' out thing again,"

Nyx blinked and then focused her eyes on Daxter. She moved her other hand and used it to pet Daxter's head. "Yeah, Dax... I'm okay... I just... He really pissed me off and I can't stop thinking about it,"

"Lingering on it isn't going to help," Jak said, speaking for the first time in the entire conversation. "Trust me,"

"I know," Nyx sighed exasperatedly. "But he. He threatened you and Torn! He said he was going to make me watch while he killed Torn and asked me how that would make me feel!"

Jak squeezed Nyx's arm, trying to get her to calm down. Meanwhile, Torn looked rather pissed at this information, and grit his teeth together. 

"He's just trying to get under your skin," Jak said. "Don't let him. He's already done enough,"

Nyx let her head meet the table as tears pricked her eyes. "I know..." she groaned. 

Daxter moved to try nussling his head under her hand. "Hey, hey, c'mon! Don't get all mopey! No one blames ya for gettin' pissed at him!"

Nyx blindly groped with her hand until it landed on Daxter's head again, where she let it stay and began scratching behind his ear. "I know, I know... But... If Keira hadn't showed up when she did, I think he would have shot me,"

Even Jak tensed up upon hearing that, and had to force himself to not be mad. Torn was clutching the edge of the table, and was glad that Nyx couldn't currently see that. "And what did Keira think of all this?" the ex-Commander asked, trying to keep his voice even. 

Nyx finally looked back up, looking tired and done with everything. "Errol fed her some lie about not recognizing me, and thinking I was an intruder. She believed him, and he took his leave. Then Keira and I... Had a conversation..."

"A conversation?" Jak asked slowly.

"Maybe it was more like me being tired and pissed and trying to not yell..." Nyx sighed. "But I told her. Almost everything. What Errol did to us and how he's just plain awful... I think she believes me, despite the fact that she said he saved her when you all first came to Haven,"

"But!" Daxter protested. "He was the one who arrested Jak!! I remember that ugly face!"

Nyx nodded. "He used her, just like he used us. I think she knows that now. She wanted to know if you're mad at her, Jak,"

Jak was silent a moment. "Yeah... Maybe a little,"

"You're allowed to be... She blamed you for being a victim, even if she didn't realize it," Nyx replied. She was still running her hand through Daxter's fur, and that was helping her stay calm enough to have this conversation. By now, the ottsel had gotten used to her petting him, and had to admit that it was pretty nice. 

"I want to believe that she didn't," Jak sighed. 

"I told her that if she wanted you to forgive her, she'd have to show it, not just say it. So next time you guys meet, try to keep that in mind..." Nyx said. 

Jak nodded. "I will. And... Thanks,"

"Why thanks?" Nyx asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you chose to think of me back there. You didn't have to try fixing things between me and Keira," Jak replied.

Nyx sighed and almost laughed. Almost. "Well, I knew you weren't going to do it. Someone had to,"

"But I'm not your responsibility," said Jak. "You didn't have to. But you chose to. So thanks,"

Nyx gave a ghost of a smile. "You're welcome. It felt like the right thing to do, because she really pissed you off last time,"

"Y'know," Daxter said. "It's really sweet that you care. Jak needs more of that in his life. More people who care,"

Nyx looked over at Jak, his hand still firmly over her arm, and thought about just how much she cared. "Yeah. I agree,"


	17. It Wasn't Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx has a vivid nightmare, caused by a small little thing that Errol said when they met alone at Keira's. Nyx wakes up in a blind panic, prompting Torn and Jak to have to calm her down and convince her that everything is okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey. Some extreme angst. Bc I feel that the plot of Jak2 needs more of that, esp with my self-insert mhm. This actually was meant to be more of a fluffy hurt/comfort type of angst but then it turned into something slightly more gorey and jarring as one word just kinda flowed into the next. Warning for slight blood and violence.

There was so much blood. There was so much goddamn blood. The bright red hue stood out against everything else in the room, and it was goddamn everywhere. The whole room was a bloody fucking mess. And Nyx would have given anything to close her eyes and not look at it, but fuck, she couldn't tear her eyes away from those blue ones... Watching as the life bled right out of them.

She was crying; She knew that. She was also screaming, but it was doing her no good whatsoever. She couldn't stop him. He was laughing at her as he kept turning the floor red, but she couldn't stop him. Her arms hurt from pulling at the chains, but she just. Couldn't break them. She wasn't like Jak, she couldn't get free.

And Errol knew that. He was throwing her frailty right in her face and making her suffer for it. She couldn't protect herself, let alone them.

Nyx was trembling as she stared at the disgusting mess that the room had become; Stared at all the pieces that were strewn about the floor. Some blond hair here, a piece of bloody tattooed flesh there... Ripped and massacred organs scattered all over, their owners unidentifiable... There was even shredded orange fur matted into all the blood.

She screamed again, the sound making her throat go raw as it echoed into the dark room. She thrashed hard, and suddenly she could move again. And goddamnit, she was absolutely going to tear that fucking asshole to pieces for this!

Then there were hands grabbing her's, and she immediately fought them, scratching blindly at whomever had her. It was somehow too dark to see, even though she could... Clearly see everything just moments before...

She faltered as she realized that the bodies and the blood were no longer there. And her arms didn't hurt from yanking on chains... But there were firm hands grabbing both her wrists. And another set on her shoulders...

"Nyx? Nyx, stop! It was a dream, you're okay..."

Then the words reached her ears, and she realized where she was. Who had ahold of her. The roar of Dark Eco died a bit, and she sat back to stare at Jak and Torn. Her breaths were coming in ragged gasps and they hurt. Tears streamed down her face and now her wrists were hurting from how hard Jak was holding them.

Her eyes flicked rapidly between the two of them. They were okay. It hadn't been real... Her shaking only got worse though as she realized that it hadn't been real. It hadn't been real. It didn't happen. It was all in her head. But somehow that didn't help...

Moments later and she burst into hysterical sobbing, curling into herself. Jak finally let her arms go, and let her cover her face. Torn also moved his hands to instead gently rub her back. "It's okay..."

Nyx couldn't find words. She was sobbing so hard she was practically screaming again, and she couldn't get ahold of herself. The Dark Eco was intensifying again, and she just couldn't stop it...

A hand that was definitely Jak's came up to thread through her hair, petting soothingly. "It was just a dream, Nyx. You're okay. I promise,"

From behind Jak, Daxter moved to try crawling into Nyx's lap. "Hey? C'mon, stop cryin'. You're okay," he nussled his head carefully against her arms, feeling how badly she was shaking. He could even feel the Dark Eco pulsing in her...

It had been weeks since they'd sprung her from prison, and she'd never had a nightmare up until now. Jak had thought that she'd gotten away lucky, but apparently not quite that much so.

Nyx didn't respond to Daxter's initial prodding; She couldn't get her body to respond. But after a few moments of feeling the ottsel sit in her lap, she moved one numb arm to rest her hand heavily on Daxter's head. He was alive, too. He was fine.

"Hey, look! A reaction! You okay, honey?" Daxter asked, peering around the hand on his head. Precursors, was she shaking.

Nyx shook her head, still covering her eyes with one hand. She still couldn't form words, her vocal chords and lips refusing to make the effort. All she could manage was panicked gasps.

"Take it slow," Torn whispered. "Just focus on breathing, okay? In through your nose, out through your mouth,"

Nyx managed a jerky nod, but she could barely get in one solid breath as it was, let alone focus on where the breaths were going in and out. But she tried. She tried to stamp down the panic and the hysteria, and focus. Tried to shove back the Dark Eco and calm the fuck down.

But it wasn't working. She just couldn't get the images of blood and massacred flesh out of her mind, and it was wreaking havok on her. She choked on another hysterical sob, and Daxter reached up to gently grab a few fingers of the hand that was still on his head. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. He didn't know her well enough to know what to say to help her. This was different from the few other times he'd had to help calm her.

Torn sighed softly, sadly. He reached over to brush Nyx's sweaty hair from her face. "Hey. Can you look at me?"

Nyx hesitated, before slowly removing her other hand from her eyes to glance up at Torn. She knew she likely looked like a goddamn mess... But Torn had seen her like this before, though the circumstances were definitely different.

Torn had to force himself to not look surprised as Nyx looked up at him; Her eyes had darkened a few shades into a much deeper blue that was just a little bit purple... But he ignored it, and reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt. "You're okay. No one's going to hurt you anymore..."

Nyx shook her head. No, that wasn't what she was worried about... That wasn't the problem. She would have killed for the dream to simply have been about that awful chair and the Dark Eco. But no. It had been about one little comment Errol had made that her brain decided to turn into some vivid scene. She took a shuddering breath and tried to form words. "That- That's not... No..."

Torn looked at her, at the desperate look on her face. "Then what was it about?"

"I... I..." Nyx couldn't find the fucking words for it. The images kept coming back to her and suddenly she was hysterically sobbing again, Dark Eco sparking to the surface of her skin.

It was Jak who reached out to grab her shoulder, as Torn leaned away from the bolts of Eco. "Nyx. It wasn't real, was it? It can't hurt anyone if it's not real,"

"C-Could be..." Nyx hissed out. "He... He could..." she couldn't finish that sentence...

No one had to ask who 'he' was. There were two options, and it didn't really matter which one she meant, because one was sort of an extension of the other. And now everyone was starting to get a slight idea of what the nightmare had been about.

"Hey, hey. Don't think about it happening. Don't go there," Jak cautioned. "You'll just freak yourself out more. It didn't happen, okay?"

Nyx nodded, trying to take those words into consideration. It didn't happen... It didn't happen. "It. It felt real..."

"I know," Jak said. "But it wasn't. It was all in your head, and I know that doesn't sound much better, but it can't hurt you that way unless you let it,"

Nyx gave a broken laugh that was much too dry and sarcastic. "Y-You're one to talk,"

Jak snorted, glad that words were finally coming back to her. "Yeah, I know,"

There were a few beats of silence, before Nyx stuttered out words again. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," Torn replied, moving closer to her again, now that the Dark Eco sparking was seemingly over. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "Remember when I used to wake up in a blind panic? You told me to not be sorry for things other people did to me,"

Nyx laughed and choked on the sound. "Y-Yeah. But technically... I did this... To myself..."

"But it was because of him, right? Errol..." Torn said slowly.

Nyx grit her teeth upon hearing his name spoken aloud, but managed to not lose what little bit of composure she'd regained. "Mhm... He... He..." Okay, if she wanted to keep that composure, she couldn't finish that sentence... More tears were already starting to well up, and she was starting to shake again.

"Do you even want to talk about it?" Jak asked, placing a hand on her knee now. Sometimes talking about it helped... Other times, not so much...

Nyx wasn't immediately sure about the answer to that. Maybe it would help if they knew what Errol had said and how badly it had gotten to her. After staring down at Daxter and weakly petting his head for a moment, she opened her mouth again. "He. He... He threatened to kill you and. And. And make me watch... When. When I met him alone at Keira's..."

There were new tears now, and she was shivering like she was freezing, but there. She'd said it. She finally said it. The images of that happening were still fresh in her mind, but she was trying hard to just ignore them. Focus on the fact that they were here with her right now and not at all dead.

Torn grit his teeth and scowled, mentally cursing the wretched woman who created Errol. "That's not going to happen,"

Nyx inhaled sharply and began to stammer out words. "But! But it could! We could. We could lose the war and-"

"I won't let that happen," Jak interupted firmly. "Errol would have to go through me to get at Torn. And there's not a damn thing that can survive me,"

"Yeah!" Daxter chimed in. "Our boy's a Dark Eco fueled powerhouse! Nothin' gets through him alive!"

Nyx shuddered and took another sharp breath. "I know! I know... I just... Just the thought of... Of it happening again... I couldn't... Can't..."

"I know," Torn said softly, subtly adjusting his scarf so the scar on his throat was hidden. "I know... Once was enough for you..."

"Okay, why are we talkin' like this has happened before or somethin'...?" Daxter asked slowly, earning himself a weak thump on the head from Jak.

A hissed breath left Nyx as she remembered the horror of watching Torn nearly die. Remembered all the blood on her hands, the way it gushed and bubbled from the slash in his throat...

"She's... Watched me almost be killed before," Torn said, stepping up to the question that Nyx couldn't answer, even though he didn't want to answer it, either. "She had to be the one to put me back together before I bled out in the street..."

"Oh..." Daxter mumbled. "Guess that would make this whole ordeal a lot worse, huh?"

"Like I said; I won't let them touch him," Jak said, wishing he could look Nyx in the eye.

Nyx shook her head. "That's what I'm afraid of..."

Jak raised an eyebrow at her, and she looked over at him to continue before he had to say anything. "You do realize that I... Didn't just mean Torn when I said 'you', right?"

"And Daxter meant it when he said that nothing gets through me alive," Jak replied firmly. He didn't even know where to begin when dealing with the idea that she cared about him that much... So he was just going to leave that alone for now.

"I know. I know I'm just. So scared of what could happen because you never know... You never know and I hate it... And it. It felt so real. My dreams usually never feel real... There was so much blood and..."

"Stop," Torn interupted, reaching out to cup the side of her face as another new wave of tears threatened to start flowing. "Don't think about it. It didn't happen, and it won't,"

Nyx sighed. "You can't... You can't garantee that... I never would have guessed that we'd get caught that day. But we did and they almost killed you, Torn! And I have to think about it every day!"

"Yeah, but we've got Jak now. And he's survived the most dangerous of suicide missions. Do you really think Errol can take him?" Torn asked, brushing more of Nyx's hair from her face.

Nyx sighed and whimpered. "I don't. I don't know, I'm just. Scared,"

"It's okay to be scared," Jak said, reaching out to drag his fingers gently over her hand. "Just know that the likelihood of that stuff happening is pretty low,"

Nyx was quiet for a moment, and looked between Jak, Daxter, and Torn. "...They got ahold of me. And Tess, and Samos... How do I know they can't find a way to get all of us next time? Why did the Baron let Torn go this time, anyways?"

Torn shook his head, pulling Nyx closer to his chest. "I don't know... But we're not gonna let them do this to us again. I promise you that,"

Nyx sighed softly and buried her face into Torn's side. "Okay. Okay... Just. Promise me he's gonna pay for this. That they all will,"

It was Jak who answered that. "I'll make sure of it,"


	18. The Time To Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Krew and Errol dead, the shield wall sabotaged, and Metal Heads invading the city, shit has definitely hit the fan big time. After listening to Vin die over the communicator line, Nyx defies Torn's orders, and rushes into the battle. She ends up at Keira's, where she comes to a rather emotional realization. Regardless of that, she then insists that Jak take her with him to confront the Baron.

In the course of one afternoon, an immense amount of things had happened... And somehow it all culminated into Nyx making a stand at Keira's garage, gunning down invading Metal Heads.

It all started with Jak winning the Class 1 race, which meant that he finally had his way into the Palace, his way to get to the Baron. But while the Baron floundered at the fact that the winner was his biggest success come back to haunt him, Errol came barrelling down the track, trying to run Jak over because he refused to accept that he'd lost.

Jak managed to leap out of the way just in time, and the Baron barely had the time to move the floating platform he was standing on, as Errol would have surely hit that, too. With those two obstacles gone, Errol went crashing into the barrels of eco that were offered as the prize for winning the race. They exploded, sending Errol up in a certainly painful blast of dark eco. 

Nyx almost couldn't believe her eyes as she watched Errol go up. It was almost funny that he'd died in an explosion of dark eco; Maybe in that split second, he understood what he'd put Jak and Nyx through...

The day kept getting more eventful from there, however, as Jak and Daxter somehow ended up at the KG weapons factory hours later. There they confronted Krew, and managed to win. They retreived the Heart of Mar, and Ashelin showed up to get them out of there just in time, before the huge bomb Krew built blew up, annihilating the crime boss in the firey blast. 

Ashelin instructed Jak to find her father and put an end to things, but he stopped by the Hip Hog first to retreive the Time Map. That was when the Metal Heads arrived. It didn't take long for panic to engulf the whole city as Metal Heads began to ravage it, and Torn was quick to demand that Nyx stay in the hideout, and then left it himself to go find Ashelin and figure out what to do.

Not long afterwards, a panicked message from Vin came in, one that he was broadcasting across all Underground channels. He said that the shield walls were down, and that Kor was the one who sabotaged them. The message ended with Vin frantically screaming as Metal Heads pounded at the door to the power station. 

Nyx wasn't thinking as she grabbed her morph gun after hearing that, but she at least stopped to strap extra ammo to her belt. Dark eco had jumped to life within her, and this time she embraced it; Let it wash away the fear and instill within her a will to fight. Because now was the right time to fight. This wasn't one of the times where she was supposed to stand down, like when she attacked Errol. This was the moment where she needed to stand up, and goddamn fight. 

And fight she planned to do. Nyx rushed out of the hideout and mounted one of the zoomers that was just outside. She slammed the gas, and starting speeding towards the power station. Vin always had a gun on him, and she hoped to god that he could fend off some of the Metal Heads until she got there. There was a warp gate in the power station, maybe he'd use that to escape?

The streets were thick with people and Metal Heads, which forced Nyx to drive in the higher hover zone to avoid them. Even so, some Metal Heads tried to jump at her, and she had to swerve to avoid being hit. She made it to the power station in one piece, though, and brought her zoomer to halt at the ramp that lead to it. She drew her gun, and prepared for a battle.

Somewhere in her body, fear screamed at her that this was a bad idea. But determination to fight bolstered by dark eco kept her from hesitating as she leaped out of her zoomer to unleash a storm of bullets into the Metal Heads that were on the ramp. 

Using bullets like a bulldozer, Nyx made her way to the power station door, which had been ripped open by sharp Metal Head claws... Her heart was starting to sink, but she kept her crosshairs where they needed to be as she cleared the power station of Metal Heads. 

As the last one dropped, Nyx eyes landed on the one body in the room that wasn't a Metal Head. Fear resurfaced, and her heart beat a terrible rhythm in her chest. Vin... Wasn't moving. And amongst the Metal Head gore, there was plenty of human blood.

Nyx moved closer, and her breath hitched in her throat as she saw just what the Metal Heads had done. She almost didn't register the fact that her knees had buckled out from under her and sent her to the ground, but suddenly Vin's body was much closer than it had been moments before.

She almost couldn't recognize him... The man who had been like family to her. In her early days of working for the Underground, Vin would keep an eye on her when Torn wasn't around. She'd been fifteen, and though she was capable of taking care of herself, Torn wasn't taking any chances. Vin had taught her so much about eco technology, had treated her like a daughter...

And here he was right in front of her... Ripped to pieces by Metal Heads. The fear became numbed again as dark eco and anger welled up in Nyx's chest. Now she was pissed. And she damn well intended to do something with that. 

At the sound of claws and growls behind her, Nyx turned sharply to fire at the Metal Head that was trying to sneak up on her, sending it crashing to the floor. She rose from the ground after that, and marched out of the power station.

The zoomer she arrived in was no longer there, but that didn't bother her one bit. She needed both her hands for something else; Shooting Metal Heads. She didn't have any set destination that she wanted to clear, she just wanted to kill as many of them as she could.

She felt mechanical as she gunned down anything that moved that wasn't human. Anything that came at her, anything that growled. For once, the KG weren't her enemies. She was fighting for the same thing they were; Their lives and their city. 

It was this logic that lead Nyx to saving the life of a guard that was grappling with a Metal Head. She saw the struggle, and fired a bullet into the Metal Head's side. The monster fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Nyx rushed up to it, and placed another bullet in it's head.

The guard pulled himself back up to his feet, and retreived his fallen weapon, glancing up at his savior. "Gee, thanks, kid,"

Nyx turned at the sound of that voice, almost not believing it. "Silas?"

"Nyx? Goddamn, what are you doing out here, girl?" Silas demanded. "Torn's gonna have an aneurysm if he finds out,"

"Well, it's not his choice. I can handle myself," Nyx replied, and then - As if to prove it - Turned to shoot an oncoming Metal Head in the face. "We shouldn't just stand here, they're everywhere!"

Silas sighed, but nodded. "Agreed, let's get moving! We should head for the Palace!"

Nyx nodded and took the lead as the duo headed deeper into Haven, where the Metal Heads were slowly working their way towards said Palace. That was where Ashelin would be, right? And by extention, Torn? Hopefully, the Palace could withstand the attack. There would still be guards there to protect it, wouldn't there?

They pushed their way through the city slowly, taking out any and all Metal Heads they could find, fighting back to back as much as they could, to avoid any ambushes. They were approaching the Palace, when a panicked radio message from Keira came in via Nyx's communicator. "Jak? Jak, are you there?!"

A few beats of silence passed, and there was no reply from Jak. So Nyx picked up her communicator. "I dunno where Jak is, Keira," she said, trying to avoid thinking of the worst case scenario. "What's going on?"

"The Metal Heads are here, we're trapped in my garage!" Keira replied after a moment. 

"Shit..." Nyx hissed. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Keira, just hang on!"

Nyx then turned to Silas. "Get to the Palace, make sure Ashelin and Torn are okay. I've got to help my friends,"

Silas nodded. "Watch your six, squirt,"

"I will," Nyx replied, reloading her gun and sprinting towards the stadium. It wasn't too far away, hopefully she could get there before the Metal Heads got to Keira. She absolutely refused to lose anyone else that day. Not if she had anything to say about it. 

There weren't too many Metal Heads around when she reached the Stadium, compared to the rest of the city anyways, and she cleared them out rather easily thanks to her Vulcan Barrel. The door to Keira's garage was closed, but heavily damaged... They would have gotten in soon if she'd been much later...

"Keira!! It's me!" Nyx yelled, banging on the door and looking behind her for more Metal Heads. 

A few moments later, Keira's voice came from the other side. "Okay! Hang on, let me get the door!"

Nyx watched behind her as the door opened slowly. Once it had opened enough, Nyx turned towards it, and suddenly found Keira hugging her. "Thank you for coming! I don't know who else would have..."

Nyx awkwardly hugged back, and then dragged Keira back into her garage. "If Jak weren't AWOL, he would have. We both know that,"

"Yeah, but he's... AWOL..." Keira mumbled. "You don't think that... He..."

Nyx shook her head, refusing to accept what Keira was suggesting. "No. Not Jak. Not Metal Heads. He's fought them before... Whatever he's doing, he's alive,"

Keira nodded, seeming reassured by this. Her father stepped up behind her, and patted her back. "Jak is a capable man, he won't let the Metal Heads take him down,"

"Damn straight," Nyx replied.

That was when they heard footsteps approaching the still open door... Nyx turned towards it, gun at the ready, only to sigh in relief upon seeing who it was. "Tess! What are you doing here?"

The taller blonde ducked slightly to enter the garage, and produced a Precursor artifact from her bag. "I came to give this to Keira. Courtesy of Jak,"

"The Time Map!" Keira exclaimed, taking the artifact from Tess and rushing to the back of her workshop. "Thank you! This is perfect!"

She pulled back the curtain in her workshop, to reveal a strange chair-like machine. She placed the Time Map inside it, looking rather excited.

"What is that?" Nyx asked, slowly approaching the machine.

"It's a replica of the rift rider that we arrived in! I built it from old artifacts," Keira replied. "And now it's finished! We just have to find the rift ring that goes with it, and father thinks it's in the Metal Head nest!"

It was a time travel device? A replica of the one Jak had arrived in? That was when it hit Nyx; They were going to leave. Jak was going to leave. This wasn't where he belonged, he came from somewhere entirely different. Somewhere that didn't have Metal Heads or vast amounts of dark eco. Somewhere happy...

Nyx found herself staring blankly as she realized something she wished she'd come to terms with sooner. But now it didn't matter. Because Jak was going to leave her...

Keira looked like she was about to say something, when the telltale growls of Metal Heads came from outside. Nyx turned on her heels, a new wave of aggrovation in her veins. She sprinted past Tess, out of the garage, and laid into the first Metal Head she saw. 

Keira was surprised to see Nyx fighting - Actually fighting out in the middle of a war. She'd always worked on the sidelines, never in the crossfire. But something had changed, and now she was refusing to back down. Keira wondered if it had anything to do with what Errol did to her...

By the time the Metal Heads stopped coming again, there were many bodies laying on the ground. Nyx looked around, tallying up just how many she'd annihilated. Unlike the first time she'd killed anything, she didn't feel guilty. These creatures were monsters, they deserved death.

For the second time in one day, footsteps behind her made Nyx spin around, gun raised and ready. And once again, she sighed in relief when she saw that it was not a Metal Head or anyone else with nasty intentions. "Jak!"

"What the hell are you doing out here?" were the words that came out of Jak's mouth before he could stop them. 

"The same thing everyone else is! Fighting for my city!" Nyx replied, feeling just a bit offended. 

"Torn would have a heart attack if he knew you were out here!" Jak hissed. 

Nyx sighed in minor annoyance. "Jak, we both know that Torn can't protect me forever! I deserve to fight for my home!"

Jak shook his head, but gave up. "Alright, fine. I just. Are you sure you can do this?"

"I've been doing it since the Metal Heads showed up and tore Vin to pieces, so yeah. I got this, Jak," Nyx answered stubbornly. 

Daxter made a face. "They really got to Vin? Damn, I was hoping he'd be okay..."

Nyx sighed and cast her gaze to the ground. "I tried to help but... I was too late..."

"It's not your fault," Jak said, trying to reassure her. 

"No, it's Kor's fault. He sabotaged the shield walls, that son of a bitch..." Nyx hissed. Then she sighed and reigned herself in. "Anyways, Keira's in her garage, she's fine,"

Jak nodded. "Thanks for helping her out while I was under the port,"

"What were you doing under there anyway?" Nyx asked, waving to Tess as the blonde took her opportunity to leave while the coast was clear. She probably had something else to attend to.

"Finding Sig..." Jak replied with a sigh. "...He didn't make it, though. Giant Metal Head took him down,"

Nyx stared at Jak for a moment, and then shook her head. "Damnit. Damn Metal Heads... Kor's gonna pay for this,"

"If he ain't already long gone, that is," Daxter muttered.

Nyx shook her head. "No, he had a reason for doing this, he had to. There's something he has to gain from all this. But for the life of me, I don't know what,"

"Neither do we, sister," Daxter replied. "Old guy gave me the creeps from day one. I dunno why they left him with that kid all the time,"

Nyx hummed. "Come to think of it... Didn't he get arrested with the Shadow and the kid?"

Jak nodded slowly. "Yeah... He was with us..."

"But we never saw him in prison..." Nyx mumbled. "He just. Showed back up out of nowhere..."

"Something hinky is goin' on here, fellas... I can smell it," said Daxter. "That old guy ain't what he seems,"

Nyx nodded. "You're right, Dax. Something big is happening here... But c'mon, now's not the time to stand around theorizing. Keira's waiting,"

Nyx lead Jak and Daxter back to Keira's garage, where the mechanic was checking over the rift rider one last time. She glanced up upon hearing the footsteps, and her eyes lit up upon seeing Jak. "Jak! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Jak snorted. "You didn't think a few Metal Heads could take me down, did you?" 

"No, of course not!" Keira replied. "I couldn't help but worry, though. Anyways, the rift rider is finished. But if father's right, and the ring is somewhere in the Metal Head nest, how are we going to get the rift rider there to use it?"

"Look!" everyone turned to the door to see that Brutter had arrived while they were talking. "Brutter just knew that friends would need lift if Metal Headers attack!"

"Brutter, you the man!" Daxter cheered. 

"Lurker balloons are finest lifters in world!" Brutter claimed. "But they is easy target!"

Jak nodded. "Right. You guys get the rift rider to the nest, I'll stay here and defend your take off and getaway,"

Daxter shook his head. "Once again, being your friend sucks! I wanna go on the balloon..."

"You keep stadium safe, while we prep balloon for lift away!" Brutter instructed. 

It was right about then when the angry growls of Metal Heads could be heard approaching the stadium again. 

"Oh no!" Brutter exclaimed. "Here they come! Metal Headers!!"

Nyx reloaded and cocked her gun. "You ready for this, Jak?"

Jak smirked as Daxter begrudingly jumped back onto his shoulder. "Oh yeah,"

The two grinned at each other, nodded, and opened fire on the approaching Metal Heads. Meanwhile, both Samos' began using their green eco powers to lift the rift rider, and carry the heavy machine to the Lurker balloon.

Jak and Nyx each took a post at one side of the rider, each defending one version of Samos from Metal Head attacks. The creatures were determined, but so were their opponents. And Metal Heads didn't have long range weapons like guns, all they had were claws and teeth. Which put them at an ever so slight disadvantage.

They managed to get the rift rider onto the balloon with nothing more than a few scratches, and proceeded to take out the remaining Metal Heads. When all was said and done, there were even more bodies laying on the ground, with just as many skull gems scattered about.

With the rift rider aboard the balloon, Keira and both versions of her father boarded the vessel as well. Brutter followed them, and signalled to his men to take off. "Up, up and away!" the Lurker yelled as the balloon began to rise. 

"Must be nice, floating away, while we die down here!" Daxter complained, planting his hands on his hips. 

"We'll meet near the nest!" Keira called as the balloon floated farther upwards. "See you soon, Jak! Be careful!"

"Yeah, Jak! Be careful..." Daxter hissed, apparently annoyed by no one taking his safety into account. 

Nyx was quiet a moment as she watched the balloon float away. "So, uh... You're going after Praxis now, aren't you? To get the Precursor Stone back?"

Jak nodded. "Yeah. And you need to get back to Torn,"

Nyx shook her head, turning to face Jak. "No. No, I'm not stepping down now. I'm going with you. I wanna see the end of this just as much as you,"

Jak almost scowled at her, but he stopped himself. "Praxis won't hesitate or take mercy, you know that! Torn would kill me if I let anything happen to you!"

"It's nice that you care, but this isn't your call," Nyx said. "I want to see this end. I deserve to, Jak. He's royally screwed me and my family over, too. Please, let me come with you..."

Jak sighed and cast his gaze somewhere else. "Fine. But stay close, and do as I say,"

Nyx nodded. "I will. Thank you,"

Jak nodded slightly. "C'mon, then,"


	19. At The End Of The Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baron Praxis ends up dead at the hands of Kor, and Jak instructs Nyx to return to Haven, to tell Ashelin. Nyx knows about Keira's secret project, and knows that Jak will be leaving after he takes out Kor. She finally dredges up the courage to tell him about that emotional realization she previously had, and then returns to Haven. Luckily for her, things finally get to have a happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit it. This one made me cry while writing it bc I'm just that attatched. Lucky me, there's a happy ending.

Jak and Nyx found Praxis at an old construction site, heading towards the Metal Head nest himself, a platoon of soldiers with him. Jak turned to Nyx from their position behind some debris. "Stay here. Shoot if you have to," 

Nyx nodded firmly. "Got it,"

Jak leaped over the large chunk of debris, and rushed towards Praxis. But his ambush was stopped by a figure falling from above and landing before him. And it only took him a moment to recognize those robes... "Kor! What's going on?!"

"I'm sure you know," Kor replied, turning to approach Jak, who backed away at Kor's aggressive tone. "Deep down in your darkest nightmares..."

Something was wrong with Kor's face as he spoke. Something deformed... Became monsterous. Nyx's fingers twitched towards the trigger of her gun, but she stopped herself. She didn't have a clear shot, not with Kor standing in front of Jak like that... She wasn't that good of a shot, and she wouldn't risk hitting Jak or Daxter.

"We've met before, remember?" Kor almost hissed at Jak, and then turned around to face Praxis. "All is going exactly as planned..."

Kor then began to walk away, laughing madly. His voice changed as he did so, and he tossed away his walking stick. From his back emerged large insect-like wings, and piece by piece the rest of his body transformed into the biggest Metal Head anyone had ever seen. 

"Jak! It's the Metal Head leader!" Daxter exclaimed, pointing at the abomination that was suddenly before them. 

"Now you see!" Kor yelled. "Without the shield walls disrupting my powers inside the city, I am my full potential now! So, for the last time, give me the Precursor Stone!"

Praxis scowled at the beast before him, and raised his sword. "If the city must die, then we all die!" he yelled, charging at Kor full-force.

Kor barely moved a muscle as he fired a bright lazer at Praxis and his platoon of guards, sending them all flying back into some dilapidated contraption that broke under the stress. If Jak hadn't stepped back several paces as Kor was talking, he likely would have been caught in the blast as well...

"I will find that Precursor Stone if I have to crush this city one brick at a time!" Kor screetched as he flew off into the distence. 

With Kor gone, Jak ran the few feet over to the remains of the contraption, and lifted up a huge panel that had fallen on top of the injured Baron Praxis. Nyx emerged from her hiding spot, and rushed to Jak's side to assess the damage. She gasped and covered her mouth when saw the damage that Kor had done.

Praxis' body had been severely burned, disfigured, and mangled by the lazer, and he was surely not long for this world. He coughed and wheezed, spitting blood onto his lips, and looked up at Jak. "You... Are the supreme weapon, Jak... And I made you..."

"Still..." Praxis continued, lifting up a small remote in his hand and pressing the button on it. "Any leader worth his salt always has his backup plan..."

Two metal panels on the ground opened, and from the hole beneath them rose another piercer bomb, with the Precursor Stone connected to the top of it. 

"Remember, the first rule in making a bomb... Is to always make... Two..." Praxis groaned out, and then his body went limp, hitting the ground hard. His eyes remained open, staring blankly at the sky with a haunted and empty look. 

Nyx stared at the body, unable to tear her eyes away, as Jak and Daxter rushed to get the Precursor Stone free from the bomb. This was what she'd came here for, right? She wanted to see the end of Praxis, wanted to pay him back for everything he'd done to them.

But Kor beat them to it, annihilated Praxis with one fell swoop. And in his dying breaths, he gave Jak the Precursor Stone, and practically begged him to save the city... It left Nyx feeling rather strange. 

"Nyx," she turned upon hearing Jak say her name, and saw that he had the Precursor Stone in his hands. "Go back to the city. Tell Ashelin that her father is dead. I'm going after Kor,"

"Jak..." Nyx started, but Jak cut her off.

"No. You're not coming with me! That's one request I'm denying. It's too dangerous in there, I'm not risking you," Jak hissed, not caring if he sounded too harsh. He wasn't taking her in there... If something happened to her in there, he'd outright let Torn kill him...

Nyx stared at Jak for a few moments, then nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll go back..."

"Thank you. Get back to Torn and Ashelin, let them know what's going on," Jak said. "Daxter and I will take care of Kor,"

Nyx nodded, and then sighed. "I uh... I know you're gonna be leaving after this... So. I guess this is goodbye, isn't it?"

Jak stared at her, having not exactly realized the events that were about to unfold. Keira had remade the rift rider, which of course meant they were going back to Sandover. Jak just hadn't realized that it meant he'd have to leave Nyx behind. He had no idea what to say to her, and the longer he stared, the more tears began to build up in her eyes. 

"I understand..." she forced out. "This isn't where you belong. You came from somewhere else, and you were forced into this awful place... Keira found a way home for you, I get it,"

Even Daxter didn't know what to say. All the people they'd met in Haven had become daily parts of their lives, and he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to leave them. Especially Nyx, he would have to be blind to see how much Jak cared about her. 

"Nyx... I..." Jak was struggling with words, and guilt was settling into his chest. 

"You don't have to say anything, Jak... I understand. I completely get it. This isn't your home, and you have every right to go back to yours. Just... I..." Nyx began to fumble with her words as well, fighting with tears and trying to hold herself together.

She looked up at Jak, and then something in her seemed to break. She reached up to grab Jak by his scarf, and pulled him down to her level. She pressed her lips against his and she held him there, kissing him as hard as she dared to. 

When she finally let him go, Nyx forced herself to stare into Jak's deep blue eyes. "I love you, Jak. I just... Wanted you to know that before you go..."

Jak stared at her again, shocked and not sure how he was supposed to respond to that. Words just weren't his strong suit, and he couldn't fathom which ones were right in this situation. So instead, he just grabbed Nyx and pulled her back in, kissing her with a little more force than he meant to. 

"I love you, too..." Jak mumbled quietly as he pulled back. "That's why I'm not letting you go in there with me. You need to stay alive,"

Nyx nodded, blinking back persistant tears. "You better do the same. Wherever you are, even if it's not here... Even if I never see you again... Stay alive. Both of you,"

It was Jak's turn to nod. "We will. I promise," and then he turned around, and started walking towards the Metal Head nest. "Goodbye, Nyx... And thank you... For everything..."

As Jak turned, Daxter leaped off his shoulder to scamper up into Nyx's arms, tears in his own eyes. She caught his small form, and held him to her chest. "I'll miss you, Dax... I'll miss you both... So much..."

"We'll miss you, too..." Daxter mumbled, burying his face into her neck for one last hug. She carefully scratched behind his ear, now trying to comfort him with the gesture. 

"You're a great friend, Daxter. Take care of him for me, okay?" Nyx asked quietly.

Daxter nodded. "Will do,"

Nyx let Daxter go then, and let him return to Jak's shoulder. "I'll never forget you!" Nyx called as they started to leave. "Either of you!"

Jak stopped to look back. "Same to you! Take care of yourself!"

Nyx nodded. "I will!"

And then she stood there, watching Jak and Daxter go, feeling incredibly empty and cheated. Whichever way things went... She was never seeing them again, was she?

After Jak was no longer in sight, Nyx turned, wiping the tears from her eyes, to head back into the city. She stopped to stare at the Baron's body one more time, before walking back towards the city gates. ...She needed to tell Ashelin about this, didn't she?

Nyx tried to focus on that goal as she re-entered the war-torn city. She never thought she'd be happy to see a battle, but at least it gave her something else to think about, instead of the empty hole in her chest.

She fought her way back to the Palace, and of course found it's doors closed. She grabbed her communicator, turned it back on, and hailed Ashelin. "Ashelin, this is Nyx. Come in, I'm at the Palace doors,"

"Roger that, I'll come let you in. Torn's worried sick about you," Ashelin said after a moment of static. 

"I know," Nyx replied, and left it at that. 

It was a few moments later that the Palace doors opened, and Nyx found Torn angrily dragging her through them. "What the hell were you thinking?! I told you to stay in the hideout, damnit!"

Nyx wrenched her arm away from Torn, making him stop to turn and look at her. "I was thinking that I couldn't just sit around looking pretty while Metal Heads tore my city apart! I have every right to fight for this place, just like you do! I'm not a little girl anymore, Torn! I can take care of myself!"

Torn looked shocked as Nyx yelled at him. She'd never yelled at him before. They'd almost never been in an argument before. And that made her words only feel louder and more true. If she believed it enough to yell at Torn over it, she had to believe it a lot. 

Torn swallowed his pride and his temper, and nodded. "I get that. But you... You've never fought before, no one ever taught you. I don't want an inexperienced solider out there,"

"Then maybe you should try teaching me once we rid our city of these damn Metal Heads," Nyx said. "'Cause I'm done letting everyone else do all the dirty work,"

Torn sighed. She wasn't the fifteen year old he took away when her father died, was she? She was different, someone much more broken, but stronger because of it. He couldn't protect her from everything, he'd already failed at that. 

Nyx then turned to Ashelin. "I came here to deliver a message, on behalf of Jak..."

"And what's that?" Ashelin asked, fearing that she knew where this was headed. 

Nyx took a deep breath. "I... Don't wanna have to be the one to tell you this, but... Your father is gone, Ashelin..."

Ashelin sighed and hung her head a bit, but nodded. "I saw this coming... After everything he did to Jak..."

"Jak didn't do it," Nyx interrupted, shaking her head and making everyone stare at her. "As it would turn out, Kor was the leader of the Metal Heads. With the shield walls down, he was able to transform, and he obliterated your father,"

"Kor... The leader of the Metal Heads?" Torn sounded like he honestly couldn't believe that. "I trusted him..."

"We all did," Nyx sighed. "He's looking for the Precursor Stone. In his dying breaths, the Baron gave it to Jak, and all but begged him to save the city. So, that's what Jak is off doing..."

"It's a suicide mission..." Torn hissed, shaking his head. 

Nyx sighed. "Yeah. But if anyone can do it, it's Jak and we all know that. Either way... I... Don't think we're seeing him ever again..." her voice cracked at the last part and she wished it hadn't. She wished she wasn't so upset about this. Wished she wasn't in love with Jak...

"And why not?" Ashelin asked. 

"I think I mentioned it didn't I? That they're from the past? Well, Keira made a replica of the machine they arrived in. Samos - Older Samos - Belives that the ring to go with it is in the Metal Head nest... Once Kor is gone... Jak's going home..." Nyx explained, unable to hide the way her voice shook and cracked.

Torn sighed and slowly wrapped an arm around Nyx's shoulders. "You love him, don't you?"

Nyx nodded and made a quiet 'mhm' sound. "I told him, too. And he said it back. Which only makes this a thousand times worse,"

"I don't know what to say. But at least you got the chance to know him, right?" Torn said, offering his best attempt at comforting words.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess so..." Nyx mumbled. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Samos wants me to meet him at the old construction site. Seems that's where things with Praxis went down," Torn announced. 

"I'll go, too... He's my father..." Ashelin said, standing up from the table they'd all been sitting around. 

Torn turned to Nyx as he checked his weapons. "Are you coming, Nyx?"

"No," Nyx replied. "I already saw what happened to him. I don't need to see it again,"

Ashelin nodded and put a hand on Nyx's shoulders. "I understand. I already told the other guards that you and Torn are off-limits. Feel free to ask them if you need anything,"

"Yeah. Thanks, Ashelin," Nyx sighed. 

Ashelin and Torn took their leave, heavily armed and ready for war. The streets had calmed down some, but there were still more Metal Heads in the city than anyone would like.

They were barely gone ten minutes, when someone set down a can of cola next to Nyx, and took a seat across from her. "Hey, squirt,"

Nyx sighed and smiled tiredly. "Hey, Silas. Glad to see you still alive,"

"You, too. Pretty brave move you pulled, going with Jak to face Praxis," Silas replied, drinking from some cup that probably had alcohol in it.

Nyx snorted and opened the soda he'd brought her. "Yeah, well. I wanted to see this battle through to it's end. But it... Didn't really end the way I expected,"

"How so?" Silas asked.

"I expected there to be a big fight between Jak and the Baron. I expected the Baron to go on about how the city is his and how he'd crush Jak and the Underground. I expected him to go down screaming about how he's the greatest and how he can't believe some renegade underdog took him down. I expected him to go down like a typical villain, Silas..." Nyx explained, feeling incredibly stupid. 

"No such thing as a 'typical' anything, kid," was Silas' answer.

Nyx sighed. "I know, I know. But. There's standards and sterotypes, aren't there? Not that I truly believe in stereotypes, but. Praxis was horrible. All he cared about was being in power and making his own little slice of heaven. He didn't care about all the people he screwed over..."

"That's true," Silas agreed, nodding. "I sense a 'but' coming, though..."

"Yeah, there's definitely one coming... I expected to feel relief when he died. I expected to feel like we'd just taken out the greatest evil and saved our city from someone horrible. But... That didn't happen. Instead, Kor annihilated him with a giant lazer blast, and Praxis nearly begged Jak to save the city..." Nyx continued, staring into her soda can. Then she sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm confused. Praxis died a hero, Silas. He died trying to save Haven City from the Metal Heads... And when he failed to do that himself, he chose to rely on Jak in his last moments... It just. Makes me wonder..."

Silas sighed and nodded. "I've told you stuff like this before, kiddo. Bad men do good things sometimes, if it'll get them what they want,"

"I know," Nyx mumbled. "But it makes me think... Y'know, did Praxis think everything he was doing was for the overall good of Haven? Did he think he was doing the right thing?"

"Doesn't matter if he thought it was right," Silas interjected. "It wasn't. Intentions aside, Praxis fucked over a lot of people,"

Nyx sighed. "Yeah, yeah he really did..."

"The city will be better off with Ashelin in control, I can promise you that," Silas said. "And now that Praxis is gone, you and Torn can finally do the things you know are right, without having to fight against Praxis to do it,"

Nyx nodded, smiling ever so slightly. "Yeah. I guess that's one up-side to all this,"

"It's the dawn of a new day, squirt. And we get to decide how the day goes," replied Silas. 

"That we do. But sadly we don't get to choose who we spend the day with," Nyx sighed. 

Silas was quiet a moment. "You really do love that kid, don't you?"

"Yeah... I do..." Nyx mumbled.

"Well, y'know what they say. 'If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it was meant to be'," Silas replied. 

Nyx snorted and almost laughed. "Why do you always have some wive's tale answer to everything?"

Silas shrugged. "Because I find that they're rather good advice,"

"Pfft. Sure they are," Nyx snickered. 

"Hey, they've gotten me this far, haven't they?" Silas asked, looking at Nyx over the edge of his drink. 

Nyx actually laughed a bit this time. "I do suppose they have,"

"I've gotta check in with the other guards, but you try to not think about stuff too much, okay?" Silas said, standing up from his seat and clapping Nyx on the back with one hand.

"I'll try. Thanks, Silas," Nyx replied, swirling around the soda left in her can. She was lucky to have people who cared that would get her through all of this, she thought. Torn, Silas, Tess... Even Ashelin, perhaps. At least she didn't have to do this alone.

It was an undetermined time later when Nyx heard Torn and Ashelin's voices in the building again. They were talking about the city and the Metal Heads. Samos' voice joined them soon, mentioning something about the shield walls.

Nyx stood from her chair to go see what they were talking about. She knew a bit about eco technology, thanks to Vin. And with Vin dead, they'd need someone to help get the shield walls up and running again, wouldn't they? She figured the least she could do was see if she could help. If Ambra had survived all this, maybe they could help, too. 

But all thoughts of offering her help died on her tongue as Nyx rounded the corner and saw that Torn, Ashelin, and Samos were not alone. And Samos... Was not the Samos she expected to see... She stopped dead and stared, almost unable to believe that this was real. But Torn was smiling at her, and he nodded slowly, and that was all the confirmation she needed.

With tears pricking at her eyes again, Nyx finally forced her voice to work. "...Jak?"

The blond that stood before her smiled, and the ottsel on his shoulder ushered him forwards. "Hey," Jak said as he closed the distence between himself and Nyx. 

Nyx didn't protest as Jak brought her in for a hug. But it took her a moment to get her arms to hug back. "...I thought I would never see you again... I thought you were going home..."

"It's... Complicated, but... This is home," Jak replied. "That little boy... That was me. Samos was sent back in time with him so that he... I... Could grow up safe. So we completed the loop, and sent them back,"

Nyx had no idea what to say to that concept, so she just stared up at Jak with her mouth agape. "So you're... Staying?"

Jak nodded. "Yeah. I'm not going anywhere,"

Nyx gave a breathy sigh of relief and joy, and buried her face into Jak's chest to hide the fact that she was crying again. Jak pet the back of her head, and Daxter crawled onto her shoulder.

"I love you," Jak whispered after a few moments. 

Nyx's breath caught in her throat as she tried to laugh. "I love you, too..."

Jak pulled away ever so slightly, so that he could grab Nyx's chin and gently pull her up to kiss her. After a few seconds, her arms came up around his neck, and she held him there. 

"Oh, will you two get a room!"

The moment was brought to an end by Samos impatiently yelling; Something he was good at. 

Jak and Nyx both laughed quietly as they pulled away from each other, and Nyx looked over Jak's shoulder to see that Torn looked three thousand kinds of secondhand embarassed, while Samos looked just plain annoyed. She laughed again and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You're just jealous,"

"Yeah!" Daxter exclaimed. "You're just jealous! Even when you weren't old as time itself, you probably couldn't have gotten a girl half as pretty as Nyx! So stuff it!"

The look on Samos' face was priceless, and probably should have been framed on a wall. Before things could get too out of hand, though, Torn stepped in. "Okay, okay. Pleasantries aside, we've still got a Metal Head invasion to deal with. It's calmed down, but certain sectors are still under attack,"

"We need to get the shield walls back up," Ashelin said. "But without Vin, I'm not sure how hard that's going to be,"

"He taught me a little bit about eco technology, way back when. And if we can find Ambra, they should be able to help me," Nyx said. "I can't garantee anything, but Mar had to have left notes somewhere, right? Details on how these things work,"

Ashelin nodded. "I'll check through my father's documents, see if there's anything there,"

"Alright, that leaves me and Silas. We'll take care of the remaining Metal Heads and get things organized," Torn said, gesturing for the KG officer to follow him.

"Hey, hey! What about us?!" Daxter yelled, dismounting Nyx's shoulder to gesture wildly at Torn. "You benching us or something?!"

Torn snorted quietly. "No. You're going to stick with Nyx. Help her find Ambra, and escort them to the power station. Guard them while they try to get things up and running again,"

"Got it," Jak replied, checking the ammo on his morph gun. 

As Silas passed Nyx to follow Torn out the door, he whispered into her ear. "See? What'd I say about setting stuff free?"

Nyx rolled her eyes and almost choked on a breathy laugh. "You were right,"

"Right? Right about what?" Daxter asked, looking up at Nyx with a confused look.

"Nothing, Dax," Nyx replied, glancing up at Jak with a smile. "Just some little life lessons,"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Welcome to the Naughty Ottsel!" Daxter announced excitedly as Tess arrived for the party he was throwing. "The hippest, hoppest, most happenin' joint in town! Check out the new decor!" Daxter pointed to the huge head of Metal Kor that was mounted above the bar. 

"Oooh, what a big trophy," Tess cooed. 

"As if size matters," Daxter purred. "I bagged that bad boy myself, baby,"

"Onin says she doesn't know who has a bigger head; Him -" Pecker pointed above him to Metal Kor. "- Or you,"

Before Daxter could retort, Samos interuppted with a more important message. "We must not forget Vin, and all the others who sacrificed their lives to defeat this evil, and protect the child,"

Jak looked down at the seal in his hand. His younger self had given it to him before he departed, like he wanted them to remember each other. "I still can't believe... That little boy was me... Better times, huh?"

From his side, Nyx moved to run a hand over his cheek. "Today isn't so bad, either, y'know,"

Jak chuckled quietly and pulled Nyx closer. "Yeah, I suppose so,"

"Besides, he's gonna grow up to be someone really great..." Nyx said, slowly moving in closer to kiss Jak.

"Hey! That's enough for you, lady! I'm cuttin' you off!" Daxter yelling at Onin caught everyone's attention at that moment, however. And everyone looked over just in time to see Onin knock Daxter over with her blue eco magic. 

"Trust me!" Pecker exclaimed. "She gets real mean when she's like this!"

"What'd she say?" Daxter asked in response to Onin signing something to them. 

Pecker hesitated before responding. "Something about rubber tubing and certain parts of your mother... You don't wanna know..."

And that was when the door burst open, and Daxter screamed at the top of his lungs. "A Metal Head!"

The panic didn't last long, though, as Daxter realized that it was not, actually, a Metal Head. "Sig!" both Daxter and Jak yelled as they rushed up to the Wastelander.

"You're okay!" Jak exclaimed.

"You cherries didn't think some nasty-breath giant-sized lizard was gonna keep me from the biggest party in town, did ya?" Sig replied, grinning widely at both of them.

"I knew you were too tough for 'em, big guy!" Daxter cheered. 

Sig laughed. "You got that right!"

"Hey, guys!" Keira said from across the room. "I think they're starting the fireworks, now! Let's go watch!"

"Oooh, fireworks sound great!" Tess exclaimed. "It's been a long time since we've been able to celebrate anything,"

Jak laughed quietly. "Y'know, I've never seen fireworks before,"

"What?" Nyx gasped in disbelief. "You've never seen fireworks?!"

Jak shook his head. "None of us have,"

Nyx stared, and then scooped up Daxter and grabbed Jak's arm to drag him towards the door. "Okay, c'mon, then. We're gonna go watch those fireworks! C'mon, Keira!"


	20. Epilogue - A New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Baron Praxis gone, and the Metal Heads evicted from the city, things are slowly starting to look up. Jak, Silas, Ambra, and Nyx are tasked with trying to get the shield walls back up and running, and by some miracle, they manage to do it. Afterwards, Daxter tries to convince everyone that going out for a drink is a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read this story, it really means a lot to me! I've had so much fun writing this!
> 
> I did an acapella cover of the All Time Low song I named this fic after. Check it out on my Tumblr: https://blueeco-aura.tumblr.com/post/164106499938/heres-my-acapella-cover-of-the-kids-in-the-dark

"Gah! We've almost got it! We just need a few more minutes!" Nyx yelled over her shoulder, trying to out-voice the gunshots. 

"Kid, you said that ten minutes ago!" Silas replied, firing off his blaster into the face of the nearest Metal Head.

Daxter grimaced as Jak basically blew open the skull of another Metal Head with the Peace Maker. "Yeah! You two need to hurry up over there! Or we're all gonna be mince-meat!"

"Rushing us isn't going to help anything!" Ambra said matter-of-factly. "If we don't do this right, the whole city could go up, you know,"

"Yeah, we know!" Jak replied. "Just try to not be too much longer, I'm running low on ammo!"

Nyx checked her own gun, and unloaded the Vulcan Barrel clip she had. "Jak, here!" 

When Jak turned towards her, she tossed the clip at him, and he caught it with one hand. "Thanks!"

Nyx nodded, and turned back to the inner workings of the shield wall that they were trying to repair. Most of the repairs were able to be done from inside the power station, they just had to reprogram things to work they way they were meant to. Ashelin had found old notes left by Mar about how things worked, and they were able to use those to get things up and running again. 

But certain sections of the wall had been damaged in the Metal Head seige, and it left various places open for attacks. The leader of the Metal Heads might have been dead, but there were still many remaining Metal Heads who wanted to see Haven fall. Or maybe they just liked to kill? No one was really sure. 

"I think we've almost got it..." Ambra mumbled. "Ugh, why did Mar have to make this so complicated..."

"Why does eco have to be so complicated to harness, is the better question..." Nyx replied. She glanced back at Jak and Silas, and past them at the advancing Metal Head group. They sure were out in force today, weren't they? Actually, they'd been out in force for the past week, and things hadn't been very quiet lately, due to it.

Although, things had been anything but quiet since Kor had been defeated, all things considered; The government of Haven City was all but turned on it's nose with Ashelin now in charge, and the biggest change made was overruling the old Krimzon Guard and creating the new Freedom League. It was still a work-in-progress thing, but Ashelin was already handing out ranks and assignments. 

Nyx wasn't sure if venturing outside of the walls to repair them was part of a normal Chief Warrant Officer's job, but she wasn't exactly complaining. A little field work now and then was a nice change of pace, even if it was incredibly terrifying. 

"Okay, I think I've got it!" Ambra said, closing off the last curcuit. She brought out her communicator and hailed the Lieutenant who was waiting in the power station. "Okay, Marcel, fire it up!" 

"Roger that," Marcel responded.

It was a few minutes later that the shield wall sparked back to life, glowing bright and blue. Nyx and Ambra clapped their hands together, nodding proudly at their work. 

"In your face, Kor!" Nyx shouted. "We fixed the fucking wall!"

Ambra smiled. "Vin would be proud,"

Nyx nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, he would,"

"Hey, does that mean we're done here?!" Daxter demanded. "Because things are gettin' real hot and heavy over here!"

Nyx and Ambra both nodded and picked themselves up off the floor. "Alright, boys, let's go!" Nyx yelled, motioning her comrades back towards the airlock gate into Haven. 

"Sweeter words have never been said," Silas sighed as he turned from the firefight and sprinted towards his comrades.

Jak took the time to knock off one last Metal Head, and then followed in Silas' footsteps. The team sprinted for the gate, and Nyx was quick to unlock it with her security pass. "C'mon, baby, open up!"

Jak turned to fire off a shot at a Metal Head that was chasing after them. "We've gotta get gates that open faster,"

"I'll tell Ashelin," Nyx replied as the gate finally opened. "Now c'mon, c'mon!"

With the gate finally open, the team ran through it, and were relieved to hear it slam shut behind them. They all stopped to catch their breath, and then laughed.

"Man, we make a great team," Silas said. "You kids sure know how to do it,"

"Yeah, it's cause we're young and reckless, right Jak?" Daxter drawled. "We're not afraid to die, now are we?"

Nyx snorted and laughed. "Speak for yourself, Dax. I'm definitely afraid of dying,"

"Yeah, me too. But Jak here ain't, are ya?" Daxter asked, tugging on Jak's ear.

Jak chuckled. "Nah. I've been through way worse,"

Silas raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Kid, I don't think there's anything worse than death,"

"You'd be surprised..." Daxter mumbled. 

"We should report back to Torn and Ashelin, now," Ambra announced. "They'll be glad to hear that we finally patched the final hole in the shield wall," 

Nyx nodded. "You're right. We won't have to worry about Metal Heads getting in anymore, that'll definitely be a load off their shoulders,"

The group began making their way through Haven, heading back for the Palace. Haven was still something of a mess after the Metal Head invasion, but they were cleaning it up slowly. They'd lost a lot people, from all walks of life, but thankfully they didn't lose any entire sectors like the attack on Dead Town. 

"How about we all go out for drinks after this?" Silas asked, turning to look at his comrades. "I say we deserve it after working out there all day,"

"Hey, that sounds great! I'm the one who owns a bar, so I'll pay!" Daxter exclaimed. 

Jak chuckled. "Yeah, a drink does sound kinda nice right now,"

"Maybe we can convince Torn and Ashelin to join us. God knows they could use a break," Nyx suggested. 

Daxter laughed. "Oooh, I'd kill to see Torn all shit-faced, wouldn't you?"

Jak tried to not laugh, but sort of failed. "Yeah, okay. I'll admit, that might be kinda funny,"

"You've known him for years, right Nyx?" Daxter asked. "Ever seen him drunk?"

Nyx snorted and tried to conceal any further laughter. "Yes,"

"Well you can't just leave it at that!" Daxter complained, leaping from Jak's shoulder to Nyx's. "What's he like?!"

Nyx hummed. "He's. Fun,"

"Fun? That's not very descriptive, c'mon! Is he a sappy drunk? Or maybe an angry drunk? I get the feeling that Jak's an angry drunk..." Daxter mused, glancing over at Jak. 

"Definitely not angry. Angry is Torn's default. He's. More like a relaxed and hilarious drunk," Nyx replied. "I bet Silas has some good stories, don't you?"

Silas whistled. "Oh yeah, I got some good ones from our rookie KG days. I'd tell you now, but it'd be better if Torn were there to get all embarassed about it,"

"He accidentally hit on a dude, didn't he?" Daxter questioned. "I can totally see that! I've seen it happen at the Naughty Ottsel, and it's hilarious!" 

Silas laughed. "You a mind reader, lil' guy?"

"Nope, I just know drunk people," Daxter replied, grinning wide. "Nooowww... I wonder what kind of drunk you are, Nyx?"

"Oh, don't go there, Dax," Nyx warned. "Torn was dumb enough to share not long before we met, it didn't end well,"

Daxter only grinned wider. "Oooohh, so Torn's got an embarrassing story about you, huh?"

Nyx snorted. "He promised he'd never tell,"

"Yeeeeaahhh, but if we loosen his lips with a bit of alchohol, I'm sure he'll feel persuaded to tell us!" Daxter purred.

Nyx narrowed her eyes at the small ottsel she called her friend. "I'm starting to think that this is a bad idea, and that you're devious,"

Daxter just continued to smirk, and Jak scoffed. "C'mon Dax, you're acting like I don't have any embarassing drunk stories about you,"

"Because ya don't," Daxter replied.

"Oh yeah? What about that one time in the Hip Hog? When we first saw Tess there, and you leaped behind the counter and drank literally everything? You got so drunk you insulted Krew and then started singing. Then you told me you loved me," Jak replied, giving Daxter a shit-eating grin.

"Oh yeah. That happened," Daxter replied, trying to not sound embarassed as Silas and Nyx laughed at him. "Well it's true, I do love ya. You're my best friend,"

Jak snorted. "Right back at you,"

Daxter rolled his eyes. "Okay okay, let's not get all mushy here, geez,"

"So from what I hear... You're an obnoxious and sappy drunk, are you Dax?" Nyx asked, giving Daxter a sly smirk. 

"No! Of course not!" Daxter protested. "Okay, maybe obnoxious, but sappy is one thing that Orange Lightning is not!"

Silas laughed. "You keep telling yourself that,"

"I'd be lyin' if I told myself anything else!" Daxter retorted, crossing his arms. "If anyone's a sap, it's Jak!"

"Oh really?" Silas asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daxter grinned. "Oh yeah! When we were kids, Jak couldn't sleep alone, so he always ended up climbing into bed with me. Especially if there were thunderstorms goin' on,"

Jak's face turned a shade of red, and he tried to not meet anyone's eyes. "Damnit, Dax,"

Nyx laughed quietly. "I hate to break it to you, Dax, but. You two still sleep together,"

Daxter seemed to deflate a bit. "Oh. Huh. Yeah, we do..."

"Guess that makes both of you saps," Nyx decided. 

Daxter scoffed. "Yeah, uh huh. Sure,"

"You're all ridiculous," Ambra sighed. 

Daxter leaned around Nyx's shoulder to look at Ambra with an unimpressed look. "You're a real stick in the mud, moss-head, ya know that?"

Ambra raised an eyebrow. "Moss-head? Did you seriously just call me that?"

"Mhm. If the shoe fits, y'know," Daxter replied. "Have you ever looked at your hair? You look like a tree,"

Ambra stared at the ottsel who had just called her a tree, and had no idea what to say to him. How did Jak and Nyx deal with this guy...?

Silas laughed as they reached the front gates of the Palace. "Okay, okay. Let's reign ourselves in, team. Gotta look professional,"

Nyx snorted. "Yeah, we're soldiers. Better try looking like it, even though two of us aren't even adults and one of us is small and furry,"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Daxter asked, leaning back around to get in Nyx's face.

Nyx shrugged. "I just meant that you don't look like a typical soldier. Neither you nor Jak do. Neither do I,"

Daxter narrowed his eyes, but accepted the answer. He was just trying to give Nyx a hard time, after all. "Uh huh,"

Nyx scoffed quietly and rolled her eyes, but said nothing as they walked through the Palace. She'd long since learned that the older soldiers wouldn't take her or Jak seriously if they didn't act professionally. That wasn't much of an issue for Jak, who was serious nearly all the time unless you brought explosions into the conversation. But for someone like Nyx who liked sarcastic jokes and childish fun a bit too much, it was a bit harder. 

And of course, no one took Daxter seriously. Because on top of sarcasm and childish tendencies, he was also loudmouthed and rude. Definitely not very good soldier material. But people tolerated him because Jak would kill them otherwise. 

Out of the five of them, Silas and Ambra were the only respectable soldiers, really. Which left a lot of the higher ranking offiers asking why three teenagers were amongst their ranks. Ashelin refused to answer them. 

Speaking of Ashelin, the group found her stood over the table in her office, with Torn right beside her. They were staring at some maps and papers that were on the table, and they looked a bit troubled. 

Torn looked up upon seeing the team return. "There you are, I take it the mission went well?"

"Right as rain," Silas replied. "The shield walls are officially back up and running,"

Torn sighed in relief. "That's great. Now we don't have to waste manpower keeping an eye on things. Great work, you guys,"

"We're one step closer to having this city up and running again," Ashelin said. "And you guys have been working tirelessly to get us this far. Thank you,"

"There's no need to thank us, Ashelin. This is our home. We wanna see it thrive again," Nyx replied, nodding slowly. 

Ashelin smiled. "Why don't you four take the rest of the day off? You deserve it,"

"Under one condition!" Daxter said, leaping from Nyx's shoulder to the table.

"And what's that?" Ashelin asked, raising an eyebrow at the ottsel.

Daxter pointed to both her and Torn. "You and ol' Tattooed Wonder here gotta come with us. You've been workin' your assess off, too. So come have a round of drinks, on me!"

Torn shook his head. "We've still got so much work to do, we don't have the time for that,"

"Torn," Nyx said, sounding as if she were warning him. "You deserve this more than anyone. Both of you. C'mon. Have just one night to relax with your friends,"

Ashelin hummed. "Maybe that's not such a bad idea,"

"Ashelin, come on. Do we really have time for that?" Torn groaned. 

"What's the point of rebuilding this city if we can't enjoy living in it?" Ashelin asked, grabbing Torn's arm gently. "Let's not seperate ourselves from the society we make,"

Torn groaned again, but then sighed. "Alright, alright. Fine,"

A grin of victory was shared amongst the group as Ashelin began pushing Torn towards the door. Daxter bounded back onto Jak's shoulder and pointed forwards. "Onwards! To the Naughty Ottsel! We're gonna have fun tonight!"


End file.
